Ukraine: Russian foreign affairs minister, Ukrainian counterpart deadlocked on 2 issues at Turkey meeting

A meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Turkey has ended without an agreement on humanitarian corridors or a ceasefire.

Kuleba said he raised the prospect of establishing a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to flee from the besieged city of Mariupol, but “unfortunately Minister Lavrov was not in a position to commit himself to it.”

In a press conference following the short meeting, Kuleba said a 24-hour ceasefire was also raised in order “to resolve the most pressing humanitarian issues,” but he said they “did not make progress” on the issue “since it seems there are other decision makers for this matter in Russia.”

Kuleba said they did agree to continue efforts to seek a solution to the humanitarian issues on the ground, and added that he is ready to meet again “in this format if there are prospects for substantial discussion and seeking solutions.”