Russia, Ukraine Foreign Ministers meet in Turkey
The meeting was the highest-level contact between the two countries since the war began on February 24.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba met on the sidelines of an international forum in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Turkey's southern Antalya province.
“At a time of great need for peace, met with my Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Lavrov and Kuleba in a tripartite format on the margins of Antalya Diplomacy Forum. We sincerely hope that peace prevails in our region,” Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.
“We will continue our efforts for diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine,” he added.
At a time of great need for peace, met with my Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Lavrov & Kuleba in a tripartite format on the margins of @AntalyaDF.
We sincerely hope that peace prevails in our region.
We will continue our efforts for diplomacy between #Russia & #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/sJu2e8XALJ
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had secured no promise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to halt firing so aid could reach civilians and evacuating hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the besieged port of Mariupol.
“I raised the issue of a ceasefire, a 24-hour ceasefire, to resolve the most pressing humanitarian issues. We did not make progress on this. Since it seems that there are other decision-makers for this matter in Russia,” Kuleba told journalist after the meeting.
Lavrov repeated Russian demands that Ukraine be disarmed and accept neutral status. (ILKHA)