Moscow and Kiev foreign ministers meet in Turkey

Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in Antalya, southwest Turkey, at midday today for the first high-level talks since the Kremlin launched its "special military operation". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu chaired the tripartite meeting.

The meeting ended without a rapprochement of positions. Instead, the two ministers hurled serious accusations at each other. Dmitro Kuleba, the Kiev minister, said that his expectations for the talks were low and encouraged Sergey Lavrov to approach them from a close and peaceful perspective.

The meeting was, however, a diplomatic success for Turkey. Ankara's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been offering himself as a mediator for weeks, as he has good relations with both countries. However, Turkey is divided over the conflict, on the one hand calling the Russian invasion unacceptable, and on the other disapproving of sanctions against Moscow.  

Mustafa Aydin, a professor at Istanbul's Kadir Has University, says the meeting is "a step forward" and could lead to the desired diplomatic escalation. The Russian position "is gradually giving way to a negotiating stance, although not yet enough to reach a concrete outcome".

The most urgent humanitarian issues have been at the heart of the dialogue. Kuleba says his objectives are to achieve a 24-hour ceasefire and to press for humanitarian corridors to evacuate people trapped in hotspots. "I came here with a humanitarian proposal: to create a humanitarian corridor to and from Mariupol," he says.

The situation in Mariupol is becoming increasingly fragile. Inhabitants have little access to food, medicine or clean water. Humanitarian convoys trying to get there are forced to turn around and the dead have to be buried in a mass grave.

Last Wednesday, Russia bombed its maternity hospital, killing three people, including a girl. Lavrov, for his part, denies that it was operational and maintains that it had become the headquarters of the Azov Battalion, a radical militia of the Ukrainian army.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy accuses his Russian counterpart of not being open to negotiation. "I asked him a very simple question: 'we have our phones, I can call the leadership and get an immediate answer. Can you do that?' He didn't answer". Despite the lack of progress, Kiev is hopeful that Lavrov will discuss the demands with the Russian authorities on his return to Moscow.

The Russian representative is also adamant about demilitarising and denazifying the neighbouring country. He recognises that the sanctions applied by the US and its allies have a virtue in that they will never again be at the mercy of the West on any substantive issue.  

The Kremlin's only condition for stopping the offensive is that Ukraine meets all of its demands: recognition of the separatist republics of Donbas, the creation of a new constitution recognising a neutral status, or the abandonment of its aspirations to join NATO.

Putin, for his part, would be willing to sit down with Zelensky as long as such a meeting offers some 'added value' and allows for solid agreements to be reached. Russia remains confident that the military balance will continue to tip in its favour despite the suffering caused.

Since the conflict began, more than 2.3 million Ukrainians have fled their country, according to the International Organisation for Migration. In addition, the UN puts the number of civilian deaths at 474. In condemnation, Western countries have imposed unprecedented economic sanctions against Russian companies, banks and oligarchs.