Russia And Ukraine Diplomats To Hold Peace Talks In Turkey

The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine will hold face-to-face talks in Turkey on Thursday, the first high-level contact between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks ago.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba today but analysts say the chances of a breakthrough are low.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has pushed for Turkey to mediate, has expressed hope the talks can avert tragedy — and even lead to a ceasefire agreement.

But analysts fear there are only the lowest chances of a breakthrough at the meeting in Antalya between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Senior Ukrainian officials, including the country’s defence minister, have held a series of meetings with a Russian delegation in Belarus.

The talks have been largely focused on humanitarian issues but Moscow has not sent any ministers to the meetings.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kuleba will be joined at the meeting by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Turkey, a Nato member, is keen to maintain strong relations with both sides despite the conflict.

Mr Kuleba confirmed in a video on Facebook he was preparing to meet Mr Lavrov on Thursday but issued a warning that his expectations were “limited”.

He said the success of the talks would depend on “what instructions and directives Lavrov is under” from the Kremlin at the discussions.

“I am not pinning any great hopes on them but we will try to get the most out of” the talks with effective preparation, he said.

The visit to Antalya is the first trip abroad for Mr Lavrov since Russia was isolated by the western world, with biting sanctions also imposed on President Vladimir Putin’s long-serving top diplomat.

Mr Lavrov flew into Antalya late on Wednesday before the talks, which are being held on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum organised by Mr Cavusoglu in Antalya, a Turkish official said.

The meeting is expected to be tense after Mr Kuleba described Mr Lavrov as the “Ribbentrop of his time” in an interview last week with CNN — a reference to the foreign minister of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

“We are working to stop this crisis transforming into a tragedy,” Mr Erdogan said on Wednesday. “I hope the meeting between the ministers will open the way to a permanent ceasefire.”