Russia has no plans to establish truce, Ukrainian foreign minister says

By Merve Aydogan

ANTALYA, Turkiye (AA) - Russia has no plans to establish a truce, the Ukrainian foreign minister said following a tripartite meeting hosted by Turkiye on Thursday.

"Russia is not in a position at this point to establish a cease-fire. They seek a surrender from Ukraine. This is not what they are going to get. Ukraine is strong, Ukraine is fighting," Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in the resort city of Antalya.

No progress has been made on a cease-fire as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was not authorized to discuss the matter, Kuleba said after the meeting which he dubbed was both "easy and difficult."

Both parties, however, agreed to continue efforts to seek a solution to the humanitarian situation on the ground, he said.

"I came here with a humanitarian purpose, to walk out of the meeting with a decision to arrange a humanitarian corridor to and from Mariupol," the Ukrainian top diplomat said.

Kuleba also said Lavrov's main message in the meeting was that "they (Russia) will continue their aggression until Ukraine meets their demands."

He further said NATO is not ready to act collectively, and it is the Ukrainian army and people so far that has ensured Ukraine’s security.

The foreign ministers of Turkiye, Ukraine, and Russia met on Thursday with the aim of reaching a lasting peace as the Russia-Ukraine war has entered its third week.

The high-level tripartite meeting began at 11.20 a.m. local time (0820GMT) on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye and lasted for more than an hour.