In this photo released by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (center) chairs a tripartite meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, (left) and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (right) in Antalya, Turkey, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE VIA AP)
ANTALYA / MOSCOW / KIEV – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, agreed on continuing negotiations over the conflict but failed to make progress in declaring a ceasefire during their meeting in Turkey on Thursday.
The tripartite meeting, held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, was the first high-level meeting between Moscow and Kiev since Russia's special military operation in Ukraine started on Feb 24.
The tripartite meeting, held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, was the first high-level meeting between Moscow and Kiev since Russia's special military operation in Ukraine started on Feb 24
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Kuleba said that he is ready to meet with Lavrov again in the same format with Turkey as a mediator, whereas Lavrov said that Russia wants to continue talks with Ukraine within the current format in Belarus.
"We had come here not to replace track of negotiations taking place in Belarus. We will not create a parallel track. If there is added value, we are ready to discuss it in different formats," Lavrov told reporters.
"Everyone is well aware that President (Vladimir) Putin never refuses contacts. We only want these contacts to be organized not for their own sake, but in order to fix some specific agreements," Lavrov said.
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The Russian top diplomat said that the discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart were mostly focused on the "efforts of our friends in Turkey regarding issues related to the humanitarian field," referring to Ankara's mediation efforts.
He also warned that the West was behaving dangerously in reaction to the situation in Ukraine, adding that Russia's military operation there was going on in accordance with the plan.
At a separate press conference, Cavusoglu said that Turkey is ready to continue its "efforts for diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine" and has played a role of "facilitator" during the meeting, adding that both the Ukrainian and Russian sides are not opposed to further meetings in principle.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations have held three rounds of peace talks in Belarus since last week, though the negotiations ended without a significant breakthrough.
No Deal On Ceasefire
Kuleba noted the failure to make progress in declaring a ceasefire.
Turkey stressed that humanitarian corridors in Ukraine should be kept open without any obstacles, Cavusoglu said after the meeting.
On Thursday, Ukraine continued evacuating civilians from conflict-torn cities and towns through seven humanitarian corridors in northern, north-central, eastern, and southern Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, citing Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
On Wednesday, more than 40,000 civilians were evacuated from Ukraine in one day.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's state-run energy company Ukrenergo on Thursday also called for a ceasefire to allow repair teams to enter and restore power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
"We have everything ready to immediately repair the lines and resume power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that has been disconnected from power for more than one day. Just stop shelling and give a pass to our repair teams," Ukrenergo said in a statement on Facebook.
Earlier on Thursday, the Belarusian news outlet BelTA said on Telegram that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed specialists to ensure power supply to the Chernobyl plant, though Ukrenergo later reported that Ukraine needs no assistance from Belarus in repairing the plant.
Biological Laboratories
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Washington must explain to the international community the purpose of US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine.
"We remember for how many years and with what bloody results the United States searched for various types of chemical, biological, bacteriological weapons and so on all over the world, actually occupying lands and killing people," Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokesperson, told a briefing.
Kyiv has recently begun erasing traces of these biological programs, she said.
"We received documentation from Ukrainian employees at the biological laboratories on the urgent destruction of especially dangerous pathogens, plague, anthrax, cholera and other deadly diseases on Feb 24.”
Also on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this issue is of great importance and the whole world would like to know the purpose of these labs.
Putin, Scholz discuss Ukraine crisis
Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a phone conversation on Wednesday to explore political and diplomatic efforts towards a possible settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
They discussed the results of the third round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, the Kremlin said in a statement.
This April 13, 2021 photo shows the giant protective dome built over the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. (SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP)
The leaders also paid special attention to humanitarian issues arising from the current situation, it said, adding that Putin briefed Scholz about measures taken to organize humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians.
The two leaders agreed to continue contacts at various levels.
Chernobyl power plant disconnected
The Ukrainian state-run energy company Ukrenergo said on Wednesday the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine has been disconnected from the power grid.
The nuclear power plant in Chernobyl was fully disconnected from the power grid. The nuclear station has no power supply.
Ukrenergo
"The nuclear power plant in Chernobyl was fully disconnected from the power grid. The nuclear station has no power supply," Ukrenergo said in a statement on Telegram.
Military actions in the area are in progress so there is no possibility to restore the power lines, the statement said.
READ MORE: No breakthrough in 3rd round of Russia-Ukraine talks
Kuleba on Twitter called on the international community to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore the power supply to the nuclear power plant.
"Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chernobyl NPP. After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent," Kuleba tweeted.
On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that remote data transmission from the safeguards control systems installed at the Chernobyl plant has been lost.
However, the United Nations nuclear watchdog denied any critical safety risk after receiving the Ukrainian report about the loss of power at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on Wednesday.
"Heat load of spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sufficient for effective heat removal without need for electrical supply," the IAEA said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The Chernobyl nuclear plant, some 110 kilometers north of Kiev, witnessed one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986.
On Feb 24, advisor to the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said Russian forces have seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
