President Zelensky said on Monday that he was ready to “discuss and find mutual understanding” with the Russians over the separatist territories of Donbass.
“We have talked about a ceasefire, but no progress has been made in this regard.” At the close of talks organized on Thursday in the Turkish seaside city of Antalya, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba gave a scant assessment of his exchange of views with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The Turkish-sponsored city on the Mediterranean coast hosted the first meeting between high-ranking representatives of Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Negotiations, which lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes, did not lead to serious progress.
“For the first time I came here for humanitarian reasons, to evacuate civilians. But Lavrov did not want to promise anything on this score, ”Dmitry Kuleba regretted at the end of the meeting.
Both diplomats, however, said they wanted to continue the discussion. It remains to be seen whether this can lead to concrete progress, while on the international stage, Russian and Ukrainian officials have constantly opposed each other since the beginning of the Russian operation.
On February 25, Vladimir Putin called the Ukrainian government “a cabal of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.” Most recently, on CNN, Dmitry Kuleba compared Sergei Lavrov, whom he met this Thursday in Antalya, with a “modern Ribbentrop” named after the Nazi minister.
Compromises put forward by the Ukrainians
The Turkish mediation attempt followed the inconclusive French and Israeli precedents. But now a new element must be taken into account. On Monday, in an interview with the American ABC channel, the Ukrainian president was open for the first time to discuss Russia’s demands.
As such, the former actor-turned-military leader said he wanted to “discuss and find a compromise” with Russia regarding the status of the pro-Russian breakaway territories of Donbass, as well as Crimea, a region annexed in 2014. “has lost interest in his country’s membership in NATO.
“It is necessary for President Putin to start talking, start a dialogue, and not live in an information bubble,” he urged.
“There is a potentially major development in the case. This development may carry weight as President Zelenskiy has revisited the denials he has countered with Putin’s requests. This is really the beginning of negotiations. And then fire from straw, a ray of fire … Let’s see … But this is an important innovation in this war, ”general Bruno Clermont analyzes on BFMTV.
From the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip is in itself a step forward. The trip to Antalya is his first trip from Russia since the beginning of the war.
And on Wednesday, Russian diplomacy indicated that its goal was not to “overthrow the government” of Ukraine. “It plays out step by step. If we already get to Lavrov, who is moving, then we can hope that Putin will do it. Knowing that once again the Ukrainians let down the ballast, and the Russians, on the contrary, seemed to add conditions,” judges Patrick Sauce, international political commentator for BFMTV.
Russia’s position to be approached with caution
On NATO’s side, we welcome the organization of these discussions. “The resumption of a lively dialogue is necessarily important and interesting. But it is important that this conversation takes place in conditions acceptable to Ukrainians and at a good level. It is to be hoped that it will make it possible to achieve progress at least at the humanitarian level. “, Camille Grand, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization, said on BFMTV.
However, in the latter case, these discussions must take place in a peaceful environment. “Diplomatically, the most important thing is that the Ukrainian authorities themselves determine what they see as a space for negotiations, and not under the pressure of the bombing,” he said. Conditions currently unfulfilled while the Russian army bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday.
Russia’s position also needs to be clarified. Vladimir Putin on Sunday reaffirmed to Emmanuel Macron his desire to achieve his goals “either through negotiations or through war.”
Turkey’s Choice
Will the next talks take place in Turkey? In any case, the country wants to be the leading mediator in the Ukrainian crisis. Although Ankara is a NATO member and has condemned the invasion, it has yet to close its airspace to Russian companies or impose economic sanctions on Moscow.
“This is a neutral place that rings in the ears of Russians. Antalya is very well known to Russian tourists. In addition, the city overlooks the Mediterranean, and not the Black Sea, which is now a naval battlefield,” says Patrick Sauces.
The position is shared by General Bruno Clermont. “Turkey is a very interesting country that is no good. She feels bad in NATO, she has special relations with Russia … The country also controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles (you need to get into the Black Sea – ed.). )”.
But while Ukrainian Dmitry Kuleba said on Thursday that he wants to continue exchanges in this format, his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov was more reserved. “Today’s meeting has confirmed that the Russian-Ukrainian format has no alternative in Belarus,” he stressed. Already closing the Turkish bracket?