UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said he intends to continue talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and among the potential topics for the discussion is the new operations to evacuate civilians from conflict zones in Ukraine, TASS News Agency reported.

"It is entirely rational to negotiate with the Russian leader. It makes a lot of sense to talk to all other relevant players in the current crisis. I believe that such contacts play an important role in order to understand the reasons, goals and be more effective in one's initiatives," Guterres said following talks with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.

He also said he was deeply concerned about hunger becoming widespread as the conflict in Ukraine threatened food security in different parts of the world.

(With input from Reuters)