Turkey hopes Ukraine, Russia reach lasting ceasefire in Istanbul
Ankara, Mar 28 (EFE).- The Turkish government Monday said it hoped the upcoming round of Russia-Ukraine talks will agree on a permanent ceasefire and pave the way for peace.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are meeting for face-to-face talks in Turkey after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
“Upon the initiative of President Erdogan, the negotiating delegations of Russia & Ukraine will meet in Turkey,” Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, tweeted.
“We are aware of the responsibility stemming from the trust vested in Turkey by both sides. We hope the meetings will result in lasting ceasefire & enable peace,” he added.
The delegations are expected to meet in Istanbul from March 28 to 30, Erdogan’s office reported.
However, a source close to the government that spoke on condition of anonymity told Efe that “in order not to leak information about these meetings, information about the location and time has not been shared. It is not yet clear if there will be any statement.”
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, met in the Turkish city of Antalya on March 10, the first face-to-face discussions held between the top diplomats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The talks, however, did not lead to any significant progress.
Last week, Erdogan said the warring sides had reached a consensus on four of the six main issues to end the war, including Kyiv’s commitment not to join Nato.
But there had been no progress regarding the situation in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the breakaway eastern region of Donbas.EFE
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