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A former foreign minister to Vladimir Putin has urged the Russian president to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine to end the “unacceptable and unjustifiable” loss of life.
Igor Ivanov joined four US and European statesmen in signing a plea for the fighting to stop before it escalates into a nuclear conflict.
The intervention by Mr Ivanov, who was the face of Russian diplomacy under both Mr Putin and his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, makes him one of the most prominent Russian figures to have called on the Kremlin to make peace.
He served as foreign minister from 1998 until 2004, when he was replaced by incumbent Sergey Lavrov, and remained in Mr Putin’s administration as secretary of Russia’s top security council until 2007.
Now the head of a Russian foreign policy think tank, he put his name to a statement published by the European Leadership Network which said Russia and the West had a common interest in preventing a nuclear war.
“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine elevates such risks dramatically,” it said, after Russian troops took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, allegedly shelled the site and occupied the area of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The statement was signed by Mr Ivanov and former UK defence secretary Des Browne, retired German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, ex-US energy secretary Ernest Moniz and former US senator and nuclear policy expert Sam Nunn.
Before the invasion, Mr Ivanov and 25 other Russian signatories backed a call for East-West agreements on military drills, missile deployment and regular contacts to lower tension.
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Smoke rising in Kyiv, which mayor Vitali Klitschko says faces a 'difficult and dangerous moment' as Russian forces step up strikes. AFP -
Pope Francis meets visitors holding the Ukrainian flag during his weekly general audience in the Vatican. AFP -
An anti-war protester demonstrates against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Nato headquarters in Brussels. AFP -
A poster in Saint Petersburg carries the letter Z, a symbol of support for the invasion, and reads: "We are proud of Russia! We are not ashamed!" AFP -
Amid the Ukraine war, there's time for a seaside stroll in Odesa. Reuters -
A child who fled from Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office in Brussels. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he appears via videoconference to make an address to Canada's Parliament. AP -
A woman walks with a bicycle next to a building damaged during the conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha, Donetsk region. Reuters -
A firefighter outside a destroyed apartment building in a residential area of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers pay tribute to Col Valeriy Gudz, who was killed in battle against Russian troops, at a cemetery in the town of Boryspil. AP -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a housing block hit by shelling in the Sviatoshynsky district, in western Kyiv. AFP -
Two people were killed as a series of powerful explosions rocked residential districts in Kyiv just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume. AFP -
The Met Opera and Chorus performs during 'A Concert For Ukraine' in New York City. AFP -
A worker welds metal at the Interpipe Steel plant in Dnipro, Ukraine. Hundreds of Interpipe’s 10,000 employees have joined the fight against Russia. AP -
A woman is rescued by firefighters from her apartment in a burning building that was hit by artillery shells in Kyiv. AP -
Rescuers work at a building damaged by an air strike, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A woman who fled Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office, in Brussels. EPA -
Cars stuck at the Irpin River bridge, as Russia unleashes a barrage of air strikes on cities across Ukraine. AFP -
A firefighter looks at a section of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile on a street in the separatist Donetsk region. The Russian military said 20 civilians were killed by a ballistic missile launched by the Ukrainian forces. AP -
Musician Davide Martello plays a piano near the Ukrainian border in Medyka, Poland. More than 1.76 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Polish Border Guard reported on March 14. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, snaps a selfie with a wounded man during a visit at a military hospital after fighting in the Kyiv region.AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles as they walk towards the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Troops carry an elderly woman on a stretcher across a makeshift bridge as Ukrainians flee Irpin. AFP -
Irina Moprezova, 54, stands in front of a house that was damaged by an air strike in Irpin. AFP -
The flags of Russia and Ukraine are projected on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, which a representative from the Jerusalem Municipality said is a show of support for diplomatic dialogue between the countries. Reuters -
A person holds a Ukrainian flag during an anti-war demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier takes cover as people flee Irpin. AFP -
Ukrainians shelter in an underground train station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman walks carefully with his weapon in the city of Irpin, near Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian people flee the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen carry an elderly woman on a stretcher from the city of Irpin. AFP -
A girl plays games on her tablet inside a subway carriage being used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an air strike on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian troops with a Javelin anti-tank missile on the front line in the northern Kyiv region. Reuters -
A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian woman takes shelter in a metro station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A member of the Ukrainian armed forces on patrol in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian fighter takes cover behind a car in the city of Irpin. AFP -
Firefighters at work after air strikes hit residential buildings in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A man wounded in an air strike is helped by medical staff in Novoiavorivsk, western Ukraine. Getty -
The ruins of the Ukraine Hotel after recent shelling in Chernihiv. EPA
The war has scotched hopes of any broad agreement in the short term, but the five foreign policy specialists stated in their letter that diplomacy and dialogue were the “only acceptable way to resolve the conflict” in an enduring way.
It came as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held a second consecutive day of talks on the 20th day of an invasion that has forced more than three million people to flee the country.
“The first and most essential step toward reducing the risks of a consequential accident, mistake, or miscalculation is a ceasefire to end the unacceptable and unjustifiable loss of human lives, including innocent civilians,” the letter said.
Russia is accused of attacking civilians in what western powers say could amount to war crimes, while the Kremlin’s line is that Ukraine is to blame for using them as human shields. The UN says at least 636 civilians have died during the fighting.
The fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was “the latest reminder of how nuclear catastrophe can quickly rise to the surface in the ‘fog of war’,” the five statesmen said.
“We must return to diplomacy and dialogue to ensure current disputes on core issues are negotiated and not fought.”
The UN’s nuclear watchdog says reactors are still operating at Zaporizhzhia but that it is investigating reports of Russian munitions exploding at the plant. The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of fabricating the incident.
