Ukraine, Russia fail to reach ceasefire agreement during Belarus border meeting

Ukrainian and Russian delegations met at the Belarus border Monday morning but as of Tuesday afternoon they had yet to reach an agreement in the ceasefire talks.

On a Sunday phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to send a delegation to meet with a delegation from Russia, announced a spokesperson for Ukraine's president's office, according to ABC News.

About six hours after the talks started, both delegations reported back to their country's officials prior to a potential second-round of talks.

"The Ukrainian and Russian delegations held the first round of talks today, the main purpose of which was to discuss the issues of a ceasefire on the territory of Ukraine and hostilities," Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said in a statement. "The parties identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions were outlined."

"In order for these decisions to get some opportunities for implementation, logistical solutions, the parties leave for consultations in their capitals. The parties discussed the possibility of holding a second round of negotiations in the near future, at which these topics will receive concrete development practice," Podolyak added.

While Ukraine's condition for a ceasefire is the withdrawal of Russian troops, Russia has signaled it wants Ukraine to adopt "neutral status," effectively hoping for the country to surrender.

"I will be honest, as always: I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try," Zelensky said in a televised address.