On March 10, local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kureba held talks in Antalya, Turkey. This is the first direct contact between the two sides since Russia launched a special military operation. The Russian media called it a "dialogue at the highest level" between the two sides since the conflict.
The talks, which began at 11 a.m. and ended at about 12.50 p.m., lasted nearly two hours and included an immediate ceasefire and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the Mariupol, Kharkiv and Samui regions. The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers held separate press conferences after the talks.
The CCTV news client quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kureba as saying that the parties at the meeting talked about a ceasefire, but no progress was made on the issue. "The Russian side has proposed that if Ukraine does not surrender, Russia will not cease fire, but Ukraine is very strong and we will not surrender," he said. ”
In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that in fact, there is no talk of a ceasefire today, and this is not the topic to be discussed today. He stressed that this meeting cannot replace the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Belarus, which is the main venue for the talks, and all specific issues, such as de-militarization and de-Nazismization, are being discussed in Belarus.
The Russians also said they would not make any concessions on any of the demands. Lavrov said that Russia has made specific proposals for a solution to Ukraine in the final round of negotiations with Ukraine, which Ukraine has studied and will respond to. In addition, since the talks did not yield results, the Russian special military operation in Ukraine will continue.
According to TASS, Lavrov said that Russian President Putin "does not refuse" to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, and the meeting between the leaders of the two countries may one day be held. Russia wants to continue negotiations with Ukraine.
Video screenshot of the press conference live
Russia also said that the West is supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons, and those countries that provide weapons to Ukraine and send mercenaries should understand the need to take responsibility for their actions. Regarding the sanctions and the Russian economy, Lavrov said that Russia cares about its own economy and the government is currently studying countermeasures.
The Russian news agency quoted Lavrov as saying: "Throughout our history, we have been dealing with various difficulties. We will emerge from the crisis with a healthier mindset. We no longer fantasize about the Western values curse, nor do we fantasize that the West will not betray other people's or its own values at any time, because there private property rights are trampled on at the snap of a finger. ”
"I assure you that we will make sure that Russia does not rely on the West any longer in areas that are vital to the lives of its people," he said. ”
In addition, the two sides spoke about how to alleviate the suffering of civilians held hostage in (crisis) situations. The Russian side reiterated its proposal to open a daily humanitarian corridor in Ukraine. The Ukrainian side said that the main goal of the meeting is to open the humanitarian corridor.
According to the Russian news network, Lavrov said that "the cold world is better than the Cold War." Kureba said "negotiations with Lavrov are difficult" and that they are trying to "find a diplomatic solution in negotiations with Lavrov."
The scene of the russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers' talks Image source: CCTV news client
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Paiskov said during the talks that Kiev has constantly put forward proposals for a direct meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin. The Ministers are now discussing this issue. At the same time, he said that Russia is facing an unprecedented economic war, which will have an impact on russia's economy. Russia is working to minimize the impact of inflation, measures are being implemented and new measures are being developed.
During the talks, the information department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine posted on social accounts that the Ukrainian-Turkish foreign minister held talks in Turkey on the same day to discuss a plan to end The Russian special military operation. The Ukrainian side thanks the Turkish side for its efforts to alleviate the conflicts and contradictions between Russia and Ukraine, and hopes that the Turkish side will continue to maintain good communication with the Russian side and create more favorable conditions for the final settlement of the Contradictions between Russia and Ukraine.
The deputy director of the Office of the President of Ukraine said that if there is a security guarantee, Ukraine can talk about neutrality, but it must be guaranteed by the United States, britain and other countries, and only the russian side's guarantee is not enough.
The scene of the talks Image source: Russian Foreign Ministry Twitter
For the talks, on March 9, the Ukrainian foreign minister who arrived in Turkey said that there were "not much expectations"; the Russian side that arrived in Turkey on the same day believed that the talks could open up "basic negotiations" between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian delegation arriving in Turkey Image source: Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
Qureba said their priority was "to cease fire, to liberate our territory, to solve all humanitarian problems" But he also said: "I want to tell you frankly that my expectations are cautious. I didn't have high expectations, but we will definitely do our best. ”
On the same day, Andrey Kortunov, director general of Russia's Council on International Affairs, told TASS that Lavrov's meeting with The Ukrainian Foreign Minister was more likely to be the beginning of fundamental negotiations between Russia and Ukraine than the end of the talks between the two sides.
As hosts, Turkey attaches great importance to the talks and has set the venue for the Regnum Carya Hotel Convention Centre, which hosted the 2015 G20 summit. The hotel has 3 floors with 4,000 square meters of windows and iron fences around it. In addition, extensive security measures have been put in place around the hotel and drone signal breakers have been placed.
Before the talks began, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavushoglu met separately with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kureba and his delegation and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and his delegation. He said on the 7th that he hoped that the meeting would become a "turning point".
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kureba (left) and Turkish Foreign Minister Cavushoglu Image source: Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict enters its third week, contacts between the two sides have begun to progress.
On March 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is open to "dialogue with Ukraine and all relevant parties wishing to achieve peace in Ukraine," but only if all of Russia's demands are met — ukraine should be de-militarized, neutral and denuclearized, and de-Nazackified, recognizing Crimea as belonging to Russia, and recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic as the administrative borders of donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In this regard, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said on the 7th that after learning that NATO is unwilling to accept Ukraine, he has no longer cooled down to join NATO, and is willing to conduct dialogue on the issues of Russia's recognition of independence of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic", and find a compromise solution (compromise) to let this territory survive. He stressed that one of the key points in the current situation in Russia and Ukraine is to let Putin start dialogue.
At present, humanitarian access is one of the few matters on which russia and Ukraine have agreed. According to the third round of negotiations held by the delegations of the two sides in the Belovezh Forest in Belarus on the 7th, the Ukrainian military agreed to cease fire along these passages from 9 o'clock to 21 o'clock local time on the 9th.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on the 9th that the negotiations with the Ukrainian side have "made some progress" and that the next round of negotiations will focus on the humanitarian passage of evacuated civilians.
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