NEW YORK, United States
A senior UN official on Thursday said there was little hope that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would produce a deal to halt fighting between the two sides.
"The massive wave of attacks over the weekend is a stark warning of how quickly this war can reach new destructive levels. Further escalation would not only aggravate the devastating toll on civilians but also endanger the already challenging peace efforts," UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Thursday.
"According to Ukrainian officials, with 355 drones, Monday's attack was the largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion," she said, adding: "This topped the previous record from the night before."
The UN official noted that the "cautious hope" she expressed a month ago has diminished in the face of recent developments."The hope that the parties will be able to sit down and negotiate is still alive, but just barely," she added.
But both sides failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire.
Moscow, which said it is impossible to achieve a truce before certain conditions are met, suggested a second round of direct talks take place on Monday.
The Kremlin said Thursday that it was awaiting Kyiv's response to its proposal for holding a fresh round of talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this week that Moscow had drafted a memorandum outlining its terms for settling the Ukraine war.
But Ukraine said Moscow has not yet shared its proposal.
After the May 16 talks, Kyiv accused Russia of outlining unrealistic demands, including calls to cede territory that is still under Ukrainian control.
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