Lavrov expects good results from Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will resume Monday or Tuesday in Istanbul and that they hope to have successful results.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed the latest developments and the situation in Ukraine in a phone conversation with Lavrov late Sunday.

Meanwhile, a Kremlin official said Russian and Ukrainian delegations will travel to Istanbul on Monday, noting that the decision to meet in person was particularly important.

“So far we cannot state any significant achievements or breakthroughs,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that it was “important” that it had been decided to continue the talks in person.

Lavrov also said that a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy should happen once the two sides are closer to agreeing on key issues.

Speaking to Serbian media outlets, Lavrov added that any meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy to exchange views on the conflict right now would be counter-productive.

On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Putin confirmed that the next round of negotiation talks would be held in Turkey’s largest metropolis Istanbul on March 28-30.

Erdoğan told Putin that a cease-fire and peace need to be established between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, as he highlighted the humanitarian situation on the ground and said Turkey was ready to provide assistance in this regard.