Sunday newspaper round-up: Swift, Peace talks, Nuclear deterrent

Ukraine and Russia will hold peace talks on the Belarussian border, near the Pripyat river, north of Chernobyl. The two delegations are set to meet "without preconditions" as part of a deal negotiated by Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described his discussions with Lukashenko as "very substantive" and added that he did not want to Belarussian troops to move into Ukraine and Lukashenko assuring him of that. In a televised address earlier, Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, had said the talks had been called after Minsk prepared its forces to join the Russian invasion. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned NATO's "aggressive statements" over his invasion of Ukraine and ordered that his country's nuclear deterrent forces be put on high alert or what he termed a "special regime of combat duty". The significant escalation in tensions came after Germany, Britain, and other NATO countries said that they would send military aid to Ukraine and placed hard-hitting financial sanctions on Moscow, including on Putin himself. - The Sunday Times

Burger King's plans to list its UK operations on the London Stock Exchange have been slowed due to investor nerves over the Ukrainian conflict, City sources said. Though no formal announcement of the listing has been made, the company has hired Investec, Peel Hunt and Bank of America as advisers. It was also understood that private equity outfit Bridgepoint, the owner of Burger King UK, was planning to float before July. One source told the The Mail on Sunday: "It's been delayed, but not indefinitely. It's market conditions. You have such a big sell-off. The sentiment right now is really difficult." - Financial Mail on Sunday

The government has warned BP of its concerns regarding the oil major's involvement in Russia. A source at Whitehall said: "BP left the meeting with no doubt about the strength of the business secretary’s concern about their commercial interest in Russia." The business secretary is believed to be uneasy regarding BP's 22% stake in Russian oil outfit Rosneft, especially given its role in providing fuel for the military effort in Ukraine. - Guardian