Tass: Ukraine Delegation Arrives In Belarus For Talks w/ Russian Reps

Russia's state-owned Tass reporting that the Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Belarus for talks with senior Russian officials. Ostensibly a ceasefire is on the table, but in order for Russia to deliver this Moscow is demanding full Ukrainian de-militarization and Kyiv's recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.

• While the maintainence of a dialogue can be viewed as a positive sign, given the ongoing Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities and the efforts to encircle Kyiv there appears little prospect that these talks will lead anywhere in the short term.
• Indeed, as MNI's Political Risk team noted yesterday, the ongoing talks could be utilised by Russia as an opportunity to solidify supply lines and manouevre troops into desired positions for attacks/sieges of major Ukrainian cities.