Belarus confirms no Ukraine peace talks to be held in Minsk on Friday

Minsk, Belarus: Ukrainian and pro-Russian rebels will not be meeting in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Friday for what Kiev had hoped would be the signing of a final peace deal, a Belarussian official said. “There will be no contact group meeting today,” Belarussian foreign ministry said spokesman Dmitry Mironchik told AFP by telephone. [caption id=“attachment_1683571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. AFP Image[/caption] The so-called Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine also includes mediators from Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The warring sides reported a tense day of inital negotiations on Wednesday that made little progress toward a final peace accord. The ministry spokesman added that “Belarus is always ready to offer (Minsk) as a negotiations venue.” A senior Ukranian source had earlier told AFP that there was still a possibility that a meeting in Minsk could be arranged for Friday if more preliminary consultations were held. AFP