The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia on Thursday began the highest-level negotiations between the two nations since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine more than two weeks ago. The talks, held in Antalya, Turkey, are the fourth set of diplomatic discussions thus far. Previous efforts failed to lead to any significant breakthroughs to end the violence.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he accepted Turkey’s offer to mediate the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The United States and other nations have sanctioned Lavrov.
Thursday’s meeting comes a day after the sides agreed to a temporary cease-fire to allow civilians to flee, but residents in some cities said Russia continued its bombardment. Russian forces have surrounded the southern city of Mariupol. On Wednesday, they shelled a hospital in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “direct strike” by Russian forces.
The fighting has concentrated in the south and east, but Ukrainian forces and civilians in the capital, Kyiv, have defended against Russian advances there.
More than 2 million people have fled, according to the United Nations.
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