Expectations were low when Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba and Russia's Sergei Lavrov met in Turkey on Thursday for the first time since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister reported "no progress" towards the agreement on a ceasefire, while the Russian army continues to bomb Ukraine. Kuleba said the meeting had been "difficult", but added that both sides had agreed to continue talks, saying Ukraine was ready for diplomacy.
Responding to a reporter, the Russian representative said that Russia is not planning to attack other countries and that his country "did not attack Ukraine either."
"We do not plan to attack other countries; we did not attack Ukraine either. However, we simply repeatedly explained to Ukraine that a situation posed direct security threats to the Russian Federation," he said.
Lavror reiterated Moscow's claims that Russia is seeking to liberate Ukraine from the "Nazis." He said Putin would not refuse a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss "specific" issues.
