(Reuters) – Ukrainian officials are to negotiate with Russian counterparts in order to establish direct talks that can lead to peace. This was the statement by Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President of Ukraine.

Via video links, the next round of talks regarding the conflict in Ukraine is set for Monday morning. Officials have not been optimistic lately but there has yet to be any positive outcomes from the negotiations.

Ukraine repeatedly demanded direct talks between Zelenskiy, Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was pointing out that the Russian leader is the final decision maker.

Our delegation is given a task: to make sure that the meeting between presidents takes place. Zelenskiy spoke in his daily video message about the meeting many people were waiting for.

It is not an easy story. A hard path. This is the only way. We want Ukraine to achieve the required result in this conflict, and in negotiations. It is necessary for peace. For security and peace.”

Russia had previously said that the Kremlin wouldn’t refuse such an event to discuss “specific” matters, but no more details have been provided.

In an escalated war in Ukraine, as other fighting was raging, on Sunday, 35 Ukrainians were killed and 134 others injured by a barrage Russian missile attack.

Ukraine previously stated that it is willing to negotiate and work with Russia but would not surrender to the conflict. Since the conflict began, more than 2.5million people fled their homes and thousands died.

Talks between the Belarusian and Belarusian sides have been held three times, the most recent on Monday. They primarily focused on humanitarian issues, which led to some openings to allow civilians to escape the fighting.

Putin stated that there were some positive shifts in talks on Friday, but did not go into detail.

According to analysts, although there wasn’t any progress between Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers on Thursday, it was clear that they had met in order to open up a possibility of a ceasefire.