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05/16/2024 01:16:21 pm

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Belarus To Host Ukraine-Russia Talks On MH17 Crash Site Access

Alexander Lukashenko

(Photo : Reuters / Alexei Druzhinin / Ria Novosti / Kremlin) President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko watches the joint war games Zapad-2013 (West-2013) at Khmelevka base in the Kaliningrad Region, September 26, 2013.

Belarus announced on Wednesday that it will host a meeting for Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko requested Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to host the Thursday meeting. Poroshenko also urged them to focus on gaining access to the crash site of the downed Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, Reuters detailed.

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According to Lukashenko's office, they invited "all interested sides" to the talks, but they were not sure if pro-Russian separatists would be there. Mikhail Zurabov, Russia's ambassador to Kiev, and former Ukrainian leader Leonid Kuchma are expected to attend the talks.

Both Zurabov and Kuchma met several times in an effort to resolve the Ukraine crisis but failed to come up with a solid solution.

The conflict between pro-Moscow rebels and Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine prevented OSCE representatives once again from accessing the crash site on Tuesday.

OSCE spokesperson Michael Bociurkiw said they make their decisions based on the safety level of the area. He confirmed on Wednesday that their team will not proceed to the crash site.

Earlier on Wednesday, separatists stopped an OSCE delegation 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the city of Donetsk because of the on-going fighting further down the road. However, officials in the convoy said they were not trying to go to the crash site.

In addition to the MH17 crash site, Poroshenko wants the involved parties to include in the discussion the release of hostages in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader probably sought the help of Belarus because although it is a Russian ally, it still has close ties with Ukraine, Reuters speculated.

On Wednesday morning, Donetsk authorities reported that the violence in the last 24 hours left 19 people dead. Donetsk is one of the places most affected by the east Ukraine conflict.

The military attack by Kiev forced rebels to flee the areas they previously held with the exception of their strongholds near Donetsk and Luhansk. In addition, the fighting in the region grew more intense since the July 17 crash of the Malaysian airliner that carried 298 people on board.

According to the West, the pro-Russian separatists probably shot the passenger jet by mistake and said Russia was supplying them with arms. Moscow, on the other hand, denies the accusation.

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