The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine arrived in Turkey for face-to-face talks on Thursday. It is the first time top diplomats have met since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24.
Officials from Kyiv and Moscow have previously held talks in Belarus. However, the meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Antalya marks the first time Russia has sent a minister to discuss the conflict.
The talks were aimed at “Russia stopping its hostilities and ending its war against Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Kuleba: “Expectations are limited”
Kuleba lowered expectations ahead of the meeting, saying the prospects for a ceasefire agreement were “limited” as Russia continued to bombard, as well as besiege, major cities.
He said the success of the meeting would depend on “what instructions and instructions Lavrov is subject to” from the Kremlin.
“I do not place high hopes on them, but we will try to make the most of the talks,” he added.
Moscow has said it is ready for talks, but that all its demands, including that Kyiv take a neutral stance and abandon its NATO aspirations, must be met to end its attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed his country to play a mediating role between the two sides.
jsi / sms (AFP, Reuters)
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