Tribratanews.polri.go.id - Turkey has opened the possibility for Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, to meet again for dialogue to seek a resolution to the war that is still raging.
“There is a possibility of a higher-level meeting, at least at the level of the foreign minister in about a week or two,” Turkey’s foreign minister said, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday (31/03/22).
The Turkish foreign minister then said, “The important thing is that both sides come and agree on a permanent ceasefire. We want to host this inter-ministerial meeting as a mediator.
Kuleba and Lavrov had already met in Antalya, Turkey, in early March. In the first meeting after the Russian invasion, the two foreign ministers did not reach any agreement. After that, Turkey hosted again the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiation talk which took place in Istanbul on March 28-30. However, the two countries failed again to reach a truce.
“Is it over? No. Some steps were taken to reduce tension, even though we were not seen much on the matters. Some said it was a maneuvering tactic. Some were hesitant. The important thing is we have to stay are vigilant,” Cavusoglu said.
Although the ceasefire failed, Russia and Ukraine agreed on several issues that could be discussed further, including Ukraine’s readiness to assume a neutral status. In addition, they also agreed to re-discuss the status of Crimea, Ukraine’s security guarantees, and a possible meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin.
Not only that, but Russia also claimed to halt its attacks in Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, a day after making the claim, explosions were still heard in Kyiv, Mariupol, and other cities.
Russia has continued to strike Ukraine since its invasion on February 24 and the number of casualties keeps rising. According to the UN, at least 1,119 civilians were killed, and another 1,790 were injured.
