Ukraine and Russia made no progress towards agreeing a ceasefire after the Russian invasion at tense talks in Turkey, the Ukrainian foreign minister said on Thursday.
“We also talked on the ceasefire, a 24-hour ceasefire, but no progress was accomplished on that,” Dmytro Kuleba told reporters after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Antalya.
“It seems that there are other decision-makers for this matter in Russia,” Kuleba said, in apparent reference to the Kremlin.
He also repeated his vow that the country will not give in, saying “I want to repeat that Ukraine has not surrendered, does not surrender, and will not surrender.”
He described the meeting as “difficult”, accusing his counterpart of bringing “traditional narratives” about Ukraine to the table.
Kuleba said he wanted to emerge from the meeting with an agreement on a humanitarian corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol but “unfortunately Minister Lavrov was not in a position to commit to it”.
Kuleba said Lavrov “will correspond with respective authorities on this issue.”
He added that he would be ready to meet with Lavrov “again in this format if there are prospects or a substantial discussion and for seeking solutions.”
But he emphasised: “We are ready for diplomacy, we seek diplomatic decisions but as long as there are none, we go with dedication, sacrificing ourselves, to defend our lands, our people, in the face of Russian aggression.”
