Russia accuses Ukraine of attempting to break off negotiations after the events in Bucha
The Ukrainian side tried to break off negotiations with Russia after the publication of footage from the city of Bucha, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He called photos and videos with images of dead bodies a provocation, the purpose of which was "to distract attention from the negotiation process, to distract attention from the fact that the Ukrainian side began to play back after talks in Istanbul, tried to put forward new conditions."
"The question arises: what is the reason for this frank, deceitful provocation, the veracity of which is simply impossible to justify. We tend to think that the reason is the desire to find a reason to disrupt the ongoing negotiations," the minister said. According to him, this happened after Ukraine handed over to Russia written proposals for a peace treaty at a meeting of delegations in Istanbul. Kyiv tried to interrupt the negotiation process immediately after the media "started spreading fakes about the city of Bucha," Lavrov said.
He added that Kyiv's refusal to discuss "demilitarization and denazification", on which Moscow insists, will not contribute to the course of negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after a visit to Bucha, said that Kyiv was ready to continue negotiations with Moscow, because "Ukraine must find peace." According to Zelensky, it will be difficult for Ukraine to continue negotiations with Russia after what happened in Bucha, but it must be done. He admitted that there may not be a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On April 2, after Ukrainian Forces entered the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, videos and photos started to appear showing the atrocities committed by Russian troops. They show dozens of dead bodies in civilian clothes, burned cars and houses destroyed by shelling. City officials say they have already found more than 300 civilians killed.
The international community has strongly condemned these crimes and demanded that they be investigated without delay. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian military of committing genocide, The leaders of many Western states, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that the Russian troops committed the war crimes.