Lavrov in Turkey; First meeting with Ukrainian counterpart in mid-war.
This is the first meeting between senior Russian and Ukrainian officials since Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks ago.
The Russian Foreign Minister arrived in Antalya on Thursday morning before scheduled talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolba.
The Turkish president is optimistic about the outcome of Thursday’s meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers to be hosted by Turkey in Antalya, and expressed hope that the meeting would lead to a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to the agreement reached during the telephone conversation between the Presidents of Russia and Turkey and initiated by Ankara, the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine is scheduled to take place in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu.
In a speech on Russian national television on the morning of Thursday (February 24th), Putin announced military action in Donbas and called on Ukrainian forces to lay down their weapons and go home.
As the war in Ukraine continues, the flood of global reactions to the event continues, with diplomatic pressure and international threats and sanctions against Russia increasing.
