We are grateful to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his initiative to introduce an Easter four-day "humanitarian pause" in Ukraine beginning on Maundy Thursday, April 21.

We fully share the view that the humanitarian pause is necessary for the safe evacuation of thousands of civilians who wish to leave the dangerous zones of ongoing and possible hostilities, especially from the long-suffering Mariupol.

We appreciate the readiness of the United Nations to ensure the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the population of the most affected areas of Ukraine in the event of a "silence of guns".

Russia must stop attacks on Ukraine's civilian facilities to protect civilians, including those in vulnerable situations, including women and children, as well as humanitarian personnel and journalists.

We call on Russia to fully respect international efforts to protect medical and humanitarian personnel, their vehicles and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical institutions.

Russia must also ensure safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian personnel and their vehicles and equipment to the population in the temporarily occupied territories.

We emphasize that the blockade of Ukrainian cities by the Russian military, in particular Mariupol, further aggravates the already critical humanitarian situation for the civilian population and hampers evacuation efforts.

Russia must end these blockades immediately.

Fulfilling these conditions will ensure the voluntary, safe and unhindered passage of civilians fleeing aggression and violence.

Ukraine has always been and remains committed to resolving the conflict peacefully and diplomatically. We also reaffirmed our agreement to the proposals for a humanitarian ceasefire submitted by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, during his visit to Ukraine.