Organized by Turkey, the first direct talks held in the seaside resort of Antalya on Thursday March 10 between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, failed. The two diplomats failed to agree on a ceasefire. Icy, without shaking hands, the face-to-face lasted an hour and a half and ended without result, while the ruthless war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine has just entered into its third week.
A joint press conference not being possible, everyone gave their own. With his characteristic aplomb, Mr. Lavrov assured that his country “did not invade Ukraine” and that the Mariupol maternity hospital, bombed Thursday morning by Russian fighters at the cost of 3 dead, was actually hosting “the Azov battalion and other radicals”, a way of acknowledging the deliberate nature of the airstrike. Moscow has no “never wanted war and seeks to end the current conflict”he assured, but the contacts “must have added value”namely the surrender of Ukraine, which Russia continues to demand.
According to Mr. Kuleba, the Russian aggression will continue until Ukraine capitulates – this would be the message sent to him by his counterpart. “We cannot stop the war if the aggressor country does not want to do so”, he lamented. A failure he expected. Before arriving in Antalya, he said his expectations were “limited”, given the unprecedented brutality of the Russian army on the ground, which besieges and bombs Ukrainian cities, targeting civilian populations, schools and hospitals. He also recalled that the head of Russian diplomacy’s room for maneuver was limited, because it was dependent ” instructions “ received from Mr Putin.
It was the first trip abroad for Mr. Lavrov, deprived of a platform since Russia found itself isolated because of sanctions, air links with the rest of the world having been interrupted. The rare country that left its airspace open, Turkey offered him a stepping stone he couldn’t refuse. The welcome was warm on the Turkish side, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, who sponsored the meeting, having affirmed that it would mark “a turning point”.
Turkey in an uncomfortable position
By imposing itself as a mediator “neutral” in the conflict, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is also seeking to pick up the pieces of his damaged relationship with his traditional allies, who are greatly irritated by his security alliance with Russia. His room for maneuver is narrow. According to researcher Galip Dalay of the Chatham House think tank, “Turkey’s geopolitical balance, when dealing with Russia, is to try to be pro-Kiev, without being openly anti-Moscow”.
You have 53.65% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.