Zakharova on Russia-Ukraine Meeting in Antalya

Russia has agreed to the proposal to hold a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey in Antalya, contingent on the willingness of the Ukrainian side. This statement was made by Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, during a broadcast on the @SolovievLive YouTube channel, as reported by RIA Novosti.

According to her, the Turkish side made this proposal following a phone conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“You know our approach regarding negotiations and our readiness to engage in them. The question here solely depends on that side (the Ukrainian side) and how adequately it will respond in principle, in every sense of the word,” she stated.

Zakharova emphasized that everything will depend on how prepared the Ukrainian side is for any substantial conversation, or even for dialogue in general. She also mentioned that a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will take place on March 10 during the Anatolian Diplomatic Forum. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry representative expressed hope that Kuleba would not be harmed by any forces before that time.

“As we see, mayors are already being threatened for creating humanitarian corridors and so on. I want to hope that at least not every day will they threaten those who are supposed to represent the Ukrainian side in negotiations,” Zakharova remarked.