Ukraine and Russia made little apparent progress in halting the war and bridging the vast differences between them at the first high-level talks between their foreign ministers since the Russian invasion began, according to Bloomberg.
Russia indicated it will continue attacks until its goals are met, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after the meeting lasting about 90 minutes with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey on Thursday. “The broad narrative he conveyed to me is that they will continue their aggression until Ukraine meets their demands, and the least of these demands is surrender,” Kuleba said.
Russia is open to serious talks between the two presidents “but those contacts must have added value,” Lavrov told reporters after the meeting. “In principle, we are for contacts on the issues that lie at the basis of the current Ukrainian crisis and questions about ways out of it.”
Hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, this was the most senior in-person meeting between Ukraine and Russia since the Russia began its invasion February 24. They followed two weeks of war in which Russia’s plans for achieving a rapid military victory have hit increasing difficulties as Ukraine mounts determined defense, backed by flows of weapons from the U.S. and its allies.
That’s prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to adopt increasingly brutal tactics, shelling Ukrainian cities and inflicting civilian casualties to try to break resistance.
At the same time the intensity of the international response in sanctioning Russia’s economy appears to have caught the Kremlin by surprise, with the ruble sinking to record lows, dozens of foreign businesses pulling out of the country and markets pricing in a growing risk of a sovereign default.