Russia and Ukraine sit down for talks after Moscow said it would halt its onslaught 'in a moment' if Kyiv gives up three key regions and forgets joining NATO

 Russian and Ukrainian delegates have sat down for a third round of peace talks after Moscow told the country it will stop its onslaught 'in a moment' if Kyiv meets a raft of extraordinary Kremlin conditions.

As the two sides met for a third round of talks in Belarus today, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all of Russia's demands had been formulated and handed over during the first two rounds of talks between delegations, which took place last week.

'We hope that all this will go OK and they will react in a suitable way,' Peskov said.

Peskov also said today that Russia is demanding Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality so it cannot join the EU or NATO, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories. 

It was the most explicit Russian statement so far of the terms it wants to impose on Ukraine to halt what it calls its 'special military operation' in Ukraine, that is now in its 12th day and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Ukraine has claimed its forces have killed over 10,000 Russian troops, although Russia has only acknowledged around 500 deaths. Experts believe Ukraine's resistance has surprised many in Moscow including President Vladimir Putin himself. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba are also due to meet at a forum in Turkey on Thursday, Ankara said. It would be the first top-level meeting since Moscow launched its invasion on February 24.

Ukrainian (left) and Russian (right) officials take part in peace talks in Brest, Belarus, this afternoon. From left to right: Ukraine's deputy minister of foreign affairs Mykola Tochytskyi, minister of defence Oleksiy Reznikov, head of the Ukrainian servant of the people faction Davyd Arakhamia, adviser to the head of the office of the president Mykhailo Podoliak. On the Russian side, from left to right, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, chairman of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky, presidential aide and the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky, deputy minister of defence Alexander Fomin, and deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko

Peskov also said today that Russia is demanding Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality so it cannot join the EU or NATO, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia is demanding that Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories

President Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podoliak sets off the for peace talks today

Speaking today on the issue of neutrality, Peskov said: 'They should make amendments to the constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc. This is possible only by making changes to the constitution.'

The Kremlin spokesman insisted Russia was not seeking to make any further territorial claims on Ukraine, despite the advance of Moscow's troops.

'We really are finishing the demilitarisation of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot,' he said.

'They should make amendments to their constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc,' Peskov said.

'We have also spoken about how they should recognise that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognise that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent states. And that's it. It will stop in a moment,' Peskov told Reuters.

The invasion launched on Feb. 24 has caused thousands of both civilian and military deaths, has sparked the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two, and provoked outrage across the world.

Russia has long demanded that Ukraine agree to rule out joining NATO. In 2019, Ukraine's then-president Petro Poroshenko signed a constitutional amendment committing the country to striving to become a member of NATO and the EU.I

Peskov claimed Russia had been forced into taking decisive actions to force the demilitarisation of Ukraine, rather than recognising the independence of the breakaway regions.

He claimed this was in order to protect the 3million Russian-speaking population in these republics, who he said were being threatened by 100,000 Ukrainian troops.

'We couldn't just recognise them. What were we going to do with the 100,000 army that was standing at the border of Donetsk and Lugansk that could attack at any moment. They were being brought U.S. and British weapons all the time,' he said.

In the run-up to the Russian invasion, Ukraine repeatedly and emphatically denied Moscow's assertions that it was about to mount an offensive to take back the separatist regions by force.

Peskov said the situation in Ukraine had posed a much greater threat to Russia's security than it had in 2014, when Russia had also amassed 150,000 troops at its border with Ukraine, prompting fears of a Russian invasion, but had limited its action to the annexation of Crimea.

A tank with the symbol 'Z' painted on its side is seen in the separatist-controlled village of Bugas during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 202

A view shows a residential building damaged by recent shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine March 3, 2022

'Since then the situation has worsened for us. In 2014, they began supplying weapons to Ukraine and preparing the army for NATO, bringing it in line with NATO standards,' he said.

'In the end what tipped the balance was the lives of these 3 million people in Donbass. We understood they would be attacked.'

Peskov claimed Russia had to act in the face of the threat it perceived from NATO, saying it was 'only a matter of time' before the alliance placed missiles in Ukraine as it had in Poland and Romania.

'We just understood we could not put up with this any more. We had to act,' he said. 

Earlier, Mykhailo Podoliyak, an advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, posted to Twitter while posing in front of a helicopter as he left for talks. 

'In a few minutes, we will start talking to representatives of a country that seriously believes that large-scale violence against civilians is an argument,' he wrote.

'Prove that this is not the case. Do not pay attention to various toxic names like Yanukovych, Boyko, Muraev, which are foolish Russians.'

Minutes earlier, he posted another message, calling the Russian army 'barbarians'.

'Barbarians of the XXI century. Russia damaged/destroyed 202 schools, 34 hospitals, 1500+ residential buildings,' he wrote. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba (left) are also due to meet at a forum in Turkey on Thursday, Ankara said. It would be the first top-level meeting since Moscow launched its invasion on February 24

'900+ our settlements are completely deprived of light, water, heat. The Russian army doesn't know how to fight against other armies. But it's good at killing civilians.'

His message captioned a picture of buildings levelled by Russian airstrikes. 

Meanwhile, Mevlut Cavusoglu - Turkey's foreign minister - announced today that Lavrov and Kuleba would meet in the resort city of Antalya on Thursday. 

Russia's foreign ministry confirmed the plan.

NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, had been offering to mediate between the sides.

Ankara has good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, and has called Russia's invasion unacceptable even as it opposes sanctions against Moscow.

Cavusoglu said that in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, President Tayyip Erdogan repeated Turkey's offer to host the meeting and Lavrov later accepted.

'We especially hope that this meeting is a turning point and...an important step towards peace and stability,' he said, adding both ministers had asked for him to join the talks.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed the meeting on Telegram.

Kuleba had said on Saturday he was open to talks with Lavrov but only if they were 'meaningful'.

Russia announced new 'humanitarian corridors' on Monday to transport Ukrainians trapped under its bombardment - to Russia itself and its ally Belarus, a move immediately denounced by Kyiv as an immoral stunt.

The announcement came after two days of failed ceasefires to let civilians flee the besieged city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of people are trapped without food and water, under relentless bombardment and unable to evacuate their wounded.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a 'special military operation'. It has uprooted more than 1.5 million people in what the United Nations says is the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.

While forging close relations with Russia on defence, trade and energy, and hosting millions of Russian tourists every year, Turkey has also sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow.

Ankara also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, and also opposed Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Russia's announcement of 'humanitarian corridors' came after two days of failed ceasefires to allow civilians to escape the besieged city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands are trapped without food and water, under relentless bombardment.

A corridor from Kyiv would lead to Russia's ally Belarus, while civilians from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, would be directed to Russia, according to maps published by the RIA news agency. 

'Attempts by the Ukrainian side to deceive Russia and the whole civilised world ... are useless this time,' the ministry said.

A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the move 'completely immoral' saying Russia was trying to 'use people's suffering to create a television picture'.

'They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,' the spokesperson told Reuters.

More than 1.7 million Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion have so far crossed into Central Europe, the United Nation's refugee agency said on Monday, as thousands more streamed in that direction. 

Sweeping sanctions have subjected Russia to isolation from global commerce never before visited on such a large economy.

Global share prices plunged on Monday after Washington said it was considering extending sanctions to Russia's energy exports, until now carved out from trade bans.