Russian-Ukrainian peace talks might resume on Wednesday as Ukraine calls on Beijing to mediate

The second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place on Wednesday, the TASS news agency reported Tuesday citing sources.
The first round of the negotiations, which lasted about five hours, concluded on Monday in Belarus’ Gomel region, with no clear breakthrough.
“Most importantly, we agreed to continue the negotiation process. The next meeting will be held in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border,” Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said after the talks.
In the meantime it is reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a phone call Tuesday for help from Beijing in mediating a ceasefire with Russia.
“Ukraine is willing to strengthen communications with China, and it looks forward to China playing a mediation role in achieving a ceasefire,” according to a Chinese readout, which cited Kuleba.
Wang’s call with Kuleba came amid escalation of the conflict.
On Tuesday, Russian forces bombarded the regional government building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, killing at least 10 civilians, according to official accounts.
Meanwhile, a huge armoured column rolled towards the capital, Kyiv, raising fears Russia may resort to pulverising civilian areas. Kuleba tweeted a video of the huge explosion in Kharkiv’s Freedom Square, calling it a “barbaric missile strike” resulting from Vladimir Putin’s inability to “break Ukraine down”. /argumentum.al