Antalya: Foreign Minister Russia And Ukraine will meet Turkey In the first high level talks between the two countries on Thursday Moscow With Ankara invaded by their neighbor, it is hoped that they can mark a turning point in the raging conflict.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has dashed hopes of a ceasefire agreement or other outcome from a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya.
Russia’s invasion has uprooted more than 2 million people, in what the United Nations called the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.
NATO member Turkey has repeatedly offered to mediate between the sides and will host its top two diplomats after weeks of mediation attempts by world powers.
Kuleba urged Lavrov to hold talks “in good faith, not from a propaganda point of view”.
“I will state very clearly that I have low expectations of the talks,” Kuleba said in a video statement on Wednesday. “We are interested in a ceasefire, the liberation of our territories, and the third point is to resolve all humanitarian issues.”
Moscow has said it is open to talks with Ukraine, but has met all of its demands – including Kyiv adopting a neutral stance and abandoning aspirations to join the NATO alliance – to end its attack. should go.
Delegations from both countries have held the first three rounds of talks, two in Belarus and one in Ukraine. Despite some positive signs on humanitarian systems, those talks have had little effect.
Moscow called its incursion a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and remove leaders it called “neo-Nazis”. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss this as an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked war against a democratic country of 44 million people.
Turkey’s balance
Professor Mustafa Aydin, from Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said bringing Lavrov and Kuleba together is “a step forward” and could enhance diplomacy at a higher level in Moscow.
“Russia is nowhere close to entertaining peace, although it is slowly changing its stance,” he said. “Its initially uncompromising stance is gradually giving way to a negotiating stance, though not yet sufficient for a tangible outcome.”
Turkey shares maritime borders with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and has good relations with both. Ankara described the Russian invasion as unacceptable and called for an immediate ceasefire, but opposed sanctions on Moscow.
Turkey has also sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow, while building close ties with Russia on energy, defense and trade, and relying heavily on Russian tourists. It also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said both Lavrov and Kuleba had requested that he join talks on Thursday, adding that he wanted the meeting to be a “turning point”.
Over the weekend, Turkey and Israel stepped up their pressure for mediation. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare a ceasefire in a call on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett talks with Putin in Moscow over the weekend, and later talks with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky,
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has dashed hopes of a ceasefire agreement or other outcome from a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya.
Russia’s invasion has uprooted more than 2 million people, in what the United Nations called the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.
NATO member Turkey has repeatedly offered to mediate between the sides and will host its top two diplomats after weeks of mediation attempts by world powers.
Kuleba urged Lavrov to hold talks “in good faith, not from a propaganda point of view”.
“I will state very clearly that I have low expectations of the talks,” Kuleba said in a video statement on Wednesday. “We are interested in a ceasefire, the liberation of our territories, and the third point is to resolve all humanitarian issues.”
Moscow has said it is open to talks with Ukraine, but has met all of its demands – including Kyiv adopting a neutral stance and abandoning aspirations to join the NATO alliance – to end its attack. should go.
Delegations from both countries have held the first three rounds of talks, two in Belarus and one in Ukraine. Despite some positive signs on humanitarian systems, those talks have had little effect.
Moscow called its incursion a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and remove leaders it called “neo-Nazis”. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss this as an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked war against a democratic country of 44 million people.
Turkey’s balance
Professor Mustafa Aydin, from Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said bringing Lavrov and Kuleba together is “a step forward” and could enhance diplomacy at a higher level in Moscow.
“Russia is nowhere close to entertaining peace, although it is slowly changing its stance,” he said. “Its initially uncompromising stance is gradually giving way to a negotiating stance, though not yet sufficient for a tangible outcome.”
Turkey shares maritime borders with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and has good relations with both. Ankara described the Russian invasion as unacceptable and called for an immediate ceasefire, but opposed sanctions on Moscow.
Turkey has also sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow, while building close ties with Russia on energy, defense and trade, and relying heavily on Russian tourists. It also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said both Lavrov and Kuleba had requested that he join talks on Thursday, adding that he wanted the meeting to be a “turning point”.
Over the weekend, Turkey and Israel stepped up their pressure for mediation. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare a ceasefire in a call on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett talks with Putin in Moscow over the weekend, and later talks with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky,