High-level talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without a ceasefire on Thursday as violence continued across the country. But there was a signal that President Vladimir Putin would not refuse a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss “specific” issues.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said there had been no progress to achieving a ceasefire in talks in Turkey with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the Russian invasion of its neighbour two weeks ago.
Talks got under way near Antalya amid an outpouring of international outrage over Russia’s attack on a children’s hospital in the strategically-important city of Mariupol that killed at least three, including one child. The bombing of the 600-bed children’s and maternity hospital that injured pregnant women was evidence of “genocide” Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said.
In comments after the talks broke up, Lavrov said the west had caused the conflict by forcing Ukraine to choose between Russia and the west. He dismissed concerns about civilian casualties as “pathetic shrieks” from Russia’s enemies and denied that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
He also claimed without evidence said the Mariupol children’s hospital had been seized by far right “Ukrainian radicals” who were using it as a base and denied that any patients were present despite photographs from the aftermath showing pregnant women and children at the site.
Lavrov, meanwhile, said Russia wants to continue negotiations with Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin would not refuse a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss “specific” issues.
In a later statement the Russian defence ministry denied it had carried out airstrikes in Mariupol and claimed the hospital attack was a “staged provocation” by Ukraine.
Kuleba called for Russia to allow the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol. He said Ukraine was ready for diplomacy but also able to defend itself as it appeared that Russia would fight on and was seeking a surrender from Kyiv that it was not prepared to offer.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who brokered the meeting, said before it began that the aim was to pave the way for talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy, facilitated by Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayip Erdoğan. Turkey, which is a Nato member and which has not imposed sanctions on Russia but has condemned the attack and allowed Turkish-built drones to be bought by Ukraine, is trying to position itself as a neutral broker in the conflict.
The Kremlin has said it would stop the war if Ukraine ceased military action, enshrined in its constitution that it had no plans to join Nato, gave up annexed Crimea and recognised the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.
Vladimir Putin, addressing a meeting of the Russian government, claimed the west was trying to blame Russia for its own mistakes with the US ban on oil and accused countries of deceiving their populations. He claimed Russia would emerge stronger after what he called the west’s “illegitimate” sanctions. “We are not going to close ourselves off. We are open to work with all our international partners who want this,” he said. / Argumentum.al
