Ukrainian and Russian Officials Meet in Ankara, Here’s What They Discussed

ANKARA – Officials from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey met in Ankara on Wednesday (11/1/2023). They held several rounds of talks.

The delegation discussed opening a humanitarian corridor between Moscow and Kiev, exchanging prisoners, and establishing a ceasefire amid the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the “The Future of Human Rights in the 21st Century” conference, where Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova held face-to-face discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Lubinets. The two then met Turkish partner Sheref Malkoch and Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop.

“The officials also discussed various humanitarian issues and issues related to providing human rights assistance to the citizens of the two countries at war,” Lubinets wrote on Facebook after the meeting.

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Moskalkova, meanwhile, wrote on her Telegram channel that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to continue providing mutual assistance to the citizens of the two countries and would continue to cooperate on the exchange of prisoners of war.

He added that the parties will also work to find missing persons. He noted 22 people had been found thanks to this cooperation and several people had been repatriated.

The Russian Ombudsman also noted the trilateral discussions touched on the importance of establishing a ceasefire, which he called a “necessary condition for the prevention of human rights violations.”

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To that end, Moskalkova personally asked Turkish Parliament Speaker Sentop to stop the ongoing supply of Turkish weapons to Ukraine.

According to Moskalkova, the weapons aid only further exacerbated the situation in the country.

After the talks, Moskalkova told the TASS news agency that she intended to meet her Ukrainian counterpart again on the sidelines of the conference, which continues on Thursday.

He noted Russia and Ukraine continue to cooperate on human rights issues, and stressed the importance of upholding such contacts.

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