Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine meet on the sidelines of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey

Europe, Middle East, News March 11, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met for the first time in high-level talks since Russia begin attacks on its ex-Soviet neighbor on February 24. The meeting between the two top diplomats was held in Antalya, Turkey on March 10.

The crucial meeting comes at a time when Russia has agreed to a ceasefire to allow the Ukrainian civilians to evacuate, however, there was no significant progress made between the two countries in the meeting.

Ukrainian foreign minister told media in his post-meeting statement that Russian foreign minister has not committed to any further ceasefire agreements or providing humanitarian corridors for evacuation. He added that Ukraine is ready to find a peaceful and diplomatic path to stop the war.

“I made a simple proposal to Minister Lavrov that I can call my Ukrainian ministers, authorities, President right now and give you 100 percent assurances on security guarantees for humanitarian corridors, but when I asked him ‘can you do the same?’, he did not respond,” Kuleba said.

Lavrov, on the other hand, stated in his post-meeting statement that Moscow wants a friendly and demilitarized Ukraine. He also stressed Russia’s stance for Ukraine to adopt a neutral status to avoid further confrontation.

^{The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey began talks on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya. (Image Credit: Cem Ozdel/Turkish Foreign Ministry/AFP)}

While responding to Ukraine’s allegation of ceasefire violations and bombing of a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the building was no longer a hospital but in fact, it was being used as a base for the Ukrainian military. Lavrov also stressed that western media is twisting the facts and only presenting the Ukrainian point of view while ignoring the Russian side.

Russia has always preferred Belarus as the venue for negotiation talks. There have been several rounds of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegates while more are expected to come in near future. However, the talks have not yielded a substantial breakthrough to end the war between the two countries.

The Russian foreign minister also indicated that President Vladimir Putin has not discarded the option to hold an in-person meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he would only meet him if substantive and focused outcomes are promised.

“President Putin has never refused to hold contacts, we only want to be sure that contacts aren’t held for the sake of contacts but seek to formalize specific agreements. We touched upon this issue today, Mr. Kuleba brought it up… and I reminded him that we always stand for meetings provided that we can achieve added value and resolve issues,” Lavrov said.

^{Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov is seen during a press conference held as part of Turkish-Russian-Ukrainian talks at the Belek Regnum Carya Hotel in Antalya, Turkey on March 10, 2022. (Image Credit: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/TASS)}

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov held the West responsible for the ongoing situation in Ukraine and said that Moscow has repeatedly urged Western countries to take its security concerns seriously, however the West ignored Russia’s demands. “Over the past eight years, all our appeals, all our calls on the Western colleagues to talk sense into Ukraine’s authorities, they have been coming up against a dead wall of silence,” Lavrov added.

The talks between the two diplomats were held on the sidelines of the ongoing diplomacy forum in Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was also present during the meeting in hopes to pave a way for a war-ending discussion between the two sides. While referring to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, Cavusoglu stated, “Our main goal is to bring the three leaders together”.

Despite being a NATO member state, Turkey has managed to take a neutral stance among the warring states. Turkey has criticized Russia on several occasions for its ‘unnecessary’ aggression, but also made it clear that Ankara would not give up on either Russia or Ukraine.