Top Russia, Ukraine diplomats in Turkey for talks
The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine yesterday met for face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first high-level contact between the two sides since they started fighting.
Thursday,s meeting in the southern city of Antalya, is the first which Russia has so far sent a minister, several talks have been carried out to try to solve the crisis between the two countries but Russia has been accused of not being cooperative.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba landed in Antalya for negotiations “on Russia ceasing its hostilities and ending its war against Ukraine”, foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko tweeted.
His Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov was also in Turkey.
Dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow has so far yielded several ceasefires and humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents, but Russia has been accused of breaching the agreement.
Kuleba said in a Facebook video his expectations were “limited” as Russia continues its bombing campaign and siege of major Ukrainian cities. The success of the discussions would depend on “what instructions and directives Lavrov are under” from the Kremlin.
“I am not pinning any great hopes on them, but we will try and get the most out of [the talks],” said Kuleba.
The meeting between Lavrov and Kuleba took place on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum near Antalya on Thursday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also participated.
Cavusoglu has said the aim of the meeting is to pave the way for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, which would be facilitated by Turkey’s president.
BY ALJAZEERA
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