On the sidelines of a diplomatic gathering in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba met for three-way talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Kuleba expressed frustration that “it appears that there are other decision-makers for this topic in Russia,” saying “no progress” had been made on even a 24-hour truce.
He also repeated his vow that the country will not give in, saying “I want to repeat that Ukraine has not surrendered, does not surrender, and will not surrender”.
He described the meeting as “difficult”, accusing his Russian counterpart of bringing “traditional narratives” about Ukraine to the table.
He said that he would be ready to meet with Lavrov “again in this format if there are prospects or a substantial discussion and for seeking solutions”.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations have also been meeting in Belarus, but the team sent by Russia to those talks is relatively low-ranking, without a minister.
Lavrov appeared to put a greater emphasis on those talks saying: “Today’s meeting has confirmed that the Russian-Ukrainian format in Belarus has no alternative”.
“We are in favour of any contacts… to solve the Ukrainian crisis… but the thing we realised is they must have added value and must not undermine the main track in Belarus.”
He said that the main topic of the talks in Antalya were humanitarian issues put forward by the Turkish hosts.
Images of the meeting showed the Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian delegations sitting on each side of a ‘U’ shaped table, with each minister accompanied by just two other officials.
There was no indication that they had shaken hands ahead of the discussions.
Hospital attack
The meeting took place against the background of international outrage after an attack on a children’s hospital in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol which, according to Kyiv, killed at least three people, including a young girl.
Kuleba said he wanted to emerge from the meeting with an agreement on a humanitarian corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol but “unfortunately Minister Lavrov was not in a position to commit to it”.
Kuleba said Lavrov “will correspond with respective authorities on this issue”.
Lavrov claimed the hospital was serving as “as a military base for nationalists” from the radical Azov Battalion.
He also accused the European Union and other countries of “dangerously” backing the supply of arms to Ukraine.
“We see how dangerously our Western colleagues, including in the European Union, are acting now, which, in violation of all its so-called principles and values, encourages the supply of deadly weapons to Ukraine.”
Multiple initiatives
The Turkey talks are one of a number of diplomatic initiatives underway.
Israel is seeking to broker a solution through direct talks with President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron is also frequently phoning the Kremlin chief.
“There is today a very slim hope and we need to seize it… without being naive,” France’s Europe Minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio ahead of the meeting.
“The goal is the same that the fighting stops but we need to put great pressure on Russia,” he added.
Turkey is a traditional ally of Ukraine and has supplied the country with Bayraktar drones — made by a firm whose technology director is Erdogan’s own son-in-law — which Kyiv has deployed in the conflict.
But it is seeking to maintain good relations with Russia, on which Turkey depends heavily for gas imports and tourism revenues.
“We are working to stop this crisis transforming into a tragedy,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, adding he hoped for a permanent ceasefire.
Erdogan is scheduled to talk on the phone with US President Joe Biden Thursday at 1530 GMT, according to the Turkish presidency.
