Lavrov will talk in Turkey about resuming negotiations with Ukraine

ALONA MAZURENKO — TUESDAY, 7 JUNE 2022, 16:11

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov will discuss the resumption of peace talks with Ukraine with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on 8 June in Turkey.

Source: Russian diplomatic mission, pro-Kremlin publication RIA Novosti

Quote: "Ministers will exchange views on the current state of affairs in the "Ukrainian crisis" and the prospects for the resumption of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks.

The Russian side will inform its Turkish colleagues about the course of the "special military operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the steps taken to ensure the security of the civilian population."

Background:

• The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that neither he nor Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba had been invited to a meeting in Ankara on 8 June, where, in particular, the issues of Black Sea shipping will be discussed.

• On 17 May, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that negotiations with Ukraine were not taking place since Kyiv had practically withdrawn from the negotiation process.

• Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, confirmed that talks with Russia were currently on pause for a number of reasons.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that it makes sense to negotiate only with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as negotiations with all other representatives of Russia do not make any difference.

• On 28 May, Putin said in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with Ukraine.

• Later, the press secretary of the President of Ukraine Serhii Nikiforov stated that Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not deny the possibility of tripartite telephone talks with the presidents of Turkey and Russia.