Jakarta –
Russia and Ukraine failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and other humanitarian issues at talks held in Turkey on Thursday (10/3). This is the first high-level talks between the two sides since Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish resort city of Antalya for three-way talks attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Reported from the news agency AFP, Thursday (10/3/2022), Kuleba said “no progress” was made even in terms of a 24-hour ceasefire. He expressed his frustration that “there seems to be another decision maker on this matter in Russia“.
Kuleba also stressed that his country would not give up. “I would like to reiterate that Ukraine have not given up, have not given up, and will not give up,” he said.
He described the meeting as “difficult”, accusing Russia’s foreign minister of bringing “traditional narratives” about Ukraine to the talks.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations have also met in Belarus, but the team Russia sent to the talks was at a relatively low level, without a minister.
While Lavrov seemed to put more emphasis on the Belarusian talks, saying: “Today’s meeting has confirmed that the Russian-Ukrainian format in Belarus has no alternative”.
“We support every contact … to resolve the Ukraine crisis … but what we realize is that these contacts must have added value and must not damage the main lines in Belarus,” the Russian foreign minister said.
He said that the main topic of talks in Antalya was the humanitarian issue raised by host Turkey.
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(ita / ita)
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