After the meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres & Russian President Vladimir Putin, an agreement was reached by the International Committee of the Red Cross or ICRC and the United Nations on the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal Steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Following the agreement, which was made on Tuesday April 26th, UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs is now mobilizing a team on the behalf of the United Nations to coordinate the civilian evacuation from the Azovstal Steel plant, says Guterres deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Haq later commented, that as of now, all we have is an agreement in principle. They are negotiating to turn this into an agreement on the ground and ensure a cease-fire would be respected which would allow people to move freely and safely out of the war-torn zone.
There are currently UN officials on the ground in Ukraine that are liaising with the authorities in Kyiv, as well as other officials coordinating with Russian and US officials as well as some other countries, trying to coordinate the evacuation.
When asked for a timeframe, Haq said the timing depends on the discussions between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs as well as coordinating with Kyiv authorities.
"So we're trying to balance all of those different talks. And on the one hand, we need a few days to prepare for this extremely complex operation, and those efforts are already happening right now. But on the other hand, of course, we're aware of the need to move as fast as we can while making sure that, if people are being moved, they will be moved safely."
-Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman to Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General
Source 1: Xinhua English
Source 2: Reuters
Source 3: UN News
Following the agreement, which was made on Tuesday April 26th, UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs is now mobilizing a team on the behalf of the United Nations to coordinate the civilian evacuation from the Azovstal Steel plant, says Guterres deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Haq later commented, that as of now, all we have is an agreement in principle. They are negotiating to turn this into an agreement on the ground and ensure a cease-fire would be respected which would allow people to move freely and safely out of the war-torn zone.
There are currently UN officials on the ground in Ukraine that are liaising with the authorities in Kyiv, as well as other officials coordinating with Russian and US officials as well as some other countries, trying to coordinate the evacuation.
When asked for a timeframe, Haq said the timing depends on the discussions between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs as well as coordinating with Kyiv authorities.
"So we're trying to balance all of those different talks. And on the one hand, we need a few days to prepare for this extremely complex operation, and those efforts are already happening right now. But on the other hand, of course, we're aware of the need to move as fast as we can while making sure that, if people are being moved, they will be moved safely."
-Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman to Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General
Source 1: Xinhua English
Source 2: Reuters
Source 3: UN News