The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine are holding face-to-face talks in Turkey in the first high-level contact between the two sides since Moscow launched its invasion on 24 February.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba have begun talks a spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry has said.
“The meeting has started,” Maria Zakharova told reporters.
The discussion was being brokered by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Cavusoglu had earlier expressed hope that the meeting will be a “turning point” and “important step” toward peace and stability and he said Tuesday that Ankara will “continue to make efforts for a lasting peace.”
Officials have accredited 334 local and foreign journalists from various media organizations from 34 countries to cover the meeting, Anadolu Agency reported.
They include Ukraine and Russia, as well as the US, Britain, Germany, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, and China.
