The war will continue … – 24 hours

Today in Antalya on the initiative of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Russia with Ukraine Negotiations between the foreign ministers ended in vain. This was the fourth meeting on the 15th day of the war in which no agreement was reached between the parties. But since this was the first meeting at the level of foreign ministers, there were high hopes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said before leaving for Antalya that, He does not expect serious results from contacts with Sergei Lavrov. He said he was in a pessimistic mood, based on Moscow’s maximalist stance. Russia management in all contacts Ukraine requires capitulation from the government. The Kremlin’s conditions are very difficult and Unacceptable: Crimea from Kiev to Russian territory, so-called “DNR” and It is required to recognize the LNR as an independent state, to commit to a neutral state, and not to keep more than 60,000 troops.

Yesterday Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharovna made a soft statement: “The tasks of the Russian army do not include the occupation of Ukraine, the destruction of its statehood, nor the overthrow of the current government. In parallel with Kiev Ukraine meaningless bloodshed of the army and Negotiations are underway to stop the resistance.

Prior to the Antalya meeting, this statement could be considered as Russia’s withdrawal. But Lavrov 20The astonishing statement of more than 0 journalists, such as “we did not invade Ukraine,” showed that the Russian diplomatic establishment is far from serious.

As for the important points of the meeting in Antalya, Foreign Ministers Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Sergey Lavrov and The discussions with Dmitry Kuleba lasted 1.5 hours. Later, they made a brief statement at a press conference and answered journalists’ questions.

The Russian minister said that, they do not want any form of real negotiations to be abused: “It is understood today that, There is nothing to replace the negotiations. We have confirmed on a daily basis that, Our recommendation to open humanitarian corridors is still in force. Those who sent weapons to Ukraine for their actions according to are responsible. Those who encourage mercenaries will also be responsible for this. We are privately owned and we do not want security interests to be violated in any way. Here is the West and We see that Europe’s interests are being trampled underfoot. ”

Lavrov said later that, Russia wants Ukraine to be a neutral country: “NATOto the expansion of snowWe are in no way safe for Ukraine snowwe do not go out. In fact, we come across many allegations of atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces. Guya that, we hit the maternity ward. All the nurses in this maternity ward and Information on the dismissal of doctors 3 days ago UNIt was submitted to

The minister later claimed that, There are allegations that biological weapons were used in the attacks: “We are concerned about allegations that the Pentagon has set up dozens of military biological laboratories on Ukrainian soil. We want answers to these questions. Military biological laboratories were established in violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons. The only thing the West wanted from Ukraine was for the country to always work against Russia. In any case, objective news, information no one is interested in the giving party. Both our president and government are working on these issues. ”

Lavrov claimed that, “We will resolve the issue of sanctions in this way,” he said that, never depend on westerners. We will take such measures that, Let’s not face a similar situation again. ”

He added that, president V.Putin never avoids contact: “We don’t want to that, let these contacts be for the sake of conversation. We discussed this with Kuleba. Putin He will not refuse to meet with Zelensky. “

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in his speech that, This meeting was both easy and difficult for him. “It was difficult because I did my best. My goal is at least a diplomatic solution way had to find. I decided to make a decision here as Foreign Minister way I came with the power to find. But Lavrov came just to listen, “he said.

The Minister then drew attention to the situation in Mariupol, where Russia is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe: “The most tragic situation is currently happening in Mariupol. The city is being bombed from the air. I came here for humanitarian purposes. My goal is to create a humanitarian corridor and ensure that civilians leave Mariupol. Unfortunately that, Minister Lavrov did not show determination in this matter, he said he would only correspond with the relevant authorities. “

Kuleba said that, They also discussed the issue of a 24-hour ceasefire: “We have not made any progress in this regard. Apparently, key decision makers are hired snowthey must work. We decided to continue our efforts. We can meet again in this format. “

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that, Both sides especially wanted Turkey to be in the meeting: “We are in this meeting with Turkey national We have played a supporting role in maintaining our position, we have not only hosted at the request of both parties, we have acted as a mediator as a country they trust. Everyone, especially the countries of the region, suffered from this war and still draws. We emphasized that, humanitarian corridors should be kept open without obstruction. A humanitarian ceasefire must be implemented until a permanent ceasefire is achieved.

The Minister said that, presidents between the parties Putin and The meeting between Zelensky was also discussed: “The Ukrainian side said that, Zelensky is ready for such a meeting, but Lavrov said Putin was not opposed to it in principle. I would like to remind him that, In a recent telephone conversation, the president made it clear that Putin was not opposed to it in principle.

Thus, certain hopes for the ministers’ meeting in Antalya did not materialize. Russia will never cease fire and He refused to open a humanitarian corridor in the besieged city of Mariupol. At present, about half a million civilians in the city are under constant fire, rocket fire and aerial bombardment by the occupying army. The Ukrainian leadership says that, All communication lines in the city are destroyed, the besieged population is starving, thirsty, elementary medical suffers from lack of assistance. The death toll is steadily rising, and Ukrainian media today published photos and videos showing the dead being buried in mass graves. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken He compared the humanitarian tragedy in Mariupol to the siege of Leningrad by the German Nazis during World War II.

These days, the West continues to provide military, financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. House of Representatives of the US Congress 13.6 billion dollars approved an emergency aid package. Great Britain The Ukrainian army is sending Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles. Anti-aircraft missiles fired from the shoulder at an altitude of 5 km and At a distance of up to 6 km weather hits their targets.

Thus, the war in Ukraine will continue. Because despite the sharp increase in military losses, Russia still does not intend to make a different decision.

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