Breaking: Putin agrees in principle to UN role in evacuating civilians from Mariupol

According to Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, who is in Moscow for the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Chief António Guterres, Putin agrees in principle to the UN taking a role in evacuating civilians from what’s left of Mariupol.

Guterres, in Moscow to try and negotiate an end to the war with Putin, has in the first instance focused on evacuating civilians who are not involved in the conflict. This according to Al Jazeera has been agreed in principle with Putin, as has the involvement of the International Red Cross, Russia’s Defence Ministry and Ukrainian officials.

Stephane Dujarric a UN spokesperson said: “Follow-on discussions will be had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defence Ministry.”

Although the UN has reported an in principle agreement many experts are sceptical that anything will come of the negotiations with the Russians so far having failed to stick to any humanitarian corridor agreements.

The announcement also comes a day after Russia admitted that it had or was evacuating close on one million Ukrainians to Russia from Mariupol and other areas, in what it described as a move to keep them out of harm’s way but in what Ukranian authorities have described as forced removals.

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