Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the first meeting will be held in Turkey’s Antalya on Thursday, where something is really expected. The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers will sit around the table.

 

The Turkish government says it hopes for a “turning point”, but that is far from certain, especially after the bombing of a children’s hospital.

The first summit meeting since the beginning of the war, you could call the talks planned in Antalya. After three rounds of negotiations between delegations from Russia and Ukraine, where little progress was made except for a barely-observed agreement on humanitarian corridors and ceasefires, it is now the foreign ministers who sit down together.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba says he does not expect much from the talks. “We are interested in a ceasefire, the liberation of our territories and solving all humanitarian problems,” Koeleba said. Only the message comes from Ruskland that it is ready for the talks. The demands are that Ukraine adopts a neutral position internationally and guarantee not to become a NATO member, recognize Crimea as Russian and recognize the self-declared people’s republics in the Donbas region as an independent.

Despite the limited expectations of Koeleba, it is still seen as hopeful that two top figures in both governments will talk to each other. Turkey has already said it hopes the talks will be a “turning point”. That is why Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu is also joining the table. In addition, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, also announced that he would travel to Turkey after incidents involving Ukrainian nuclear power plants.