Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that ultimately an agreement would need to be struck to end fighting in Ukraine, nearly ten months after the Kremlin launched its “special military operation” there. French energy group TotalEnergies said earlier that it was withdrawing its representatives from the board of Russian gas giant Novatek and taking a $3.7 billion hit in the wake of sanctions against Moscow. Follow our live blog for the latest on the war. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
9:15pm: Belarus to allow transit of Ukraine grain for export from Lithuania, says UN
Belarus told the UN on Friday that it would accept, without preconditions, the transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory for export from Lithuanian ports, a UN spokesman said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with Belarus Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Ambrazevich in New York on Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement after the meeting.
Ambrazevich also “reiterated the requests from his government to be able export its own fertiliser products, which are currently subject to sanctions,” Dujarric said.
