Turkey Says Lavrov-Kuleba Meeting Was Civil despite All Difficulties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Antalya, Turkey March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Antalya, Turkey March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
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Turkey Says Lavrov-Kuleba Meeting Was Civil despite All Difficulties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Antalya, Turkey March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Antalya, Turkey March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer

The meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in Turkey on Thursday was civil despite all the difficulties and the most important outcome of the talks was establishing contact, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting between Dmytro Kuleba and Sergei Lavrov, which Cavusoglu also attended, he said there was a need for both a humanitarian corridor from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and for a sustainable ceasefire, according to Reuters.

The meeting was the first high-level contact between the two sides since Moscow invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Officials from Kyiv and Moscow have held several rounds of discussions in Belarus, but the meeting in the southern city of Antalya was the first time Russia has sent a minister for talks on the crisis, AFP said.

Dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow has so far yielded several local ceasefires and humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents, but Russia has been accused of breaching those agreements.

Earlier, Kuleba confirmed in a Facebook video that he would travel to Turkey for the talks but said his expectations were "limited", as Russia continues its brutal bombing campaign and siege of major cities.

He said the success of the talks would depend on "what instructions and directives Lavrov is under" from the Kremlin.

"I am not pinning any great hopes on them, but we will try and get the most out of" the talks with effective preparation, he said.

The sit-down comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed for Ankara to play a mediation role.

"We are working to stop this crisis from transforming into a tragedy," Erdogan said Wednesday. 

"I hope the meeting between the ministers will open the way to a permanent ceasefire."



China Says It Will Grow Relations with Canada on Basis of Mutual Respect 

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
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China Says It Will Grow Relations with Canada on Basis of Mutual Respect 

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

China will continue to grow bilateral relations with Canada on the basis of mutual respect and equality, the foreign ministry said after Mark Carney won the race to lead Canada's ruling party and become the next prime minister.

Carney, a two-time central banker who has never held elected office, won the leadership race with 86% of the votes cast on Sunday and will succeed Justin Trudeau who resigned in January.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning congratulated Carney on his win, while urging Canada to work with China to promote improvement and development of relations.

"We expect Canada to adhere to an objective and rational understanding of China and pursue a positive and pragmatic policy towards China," Mao said on Monday.

Carney's victory came just a day after Beijing announced tariffs on over $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products on Saturday, in retaliation against levies Ottawa introduced in October.

The levies, scheduled to take effect on March 20, match the 100% and 25% import duties Canada imposed on China-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminium products.

Mao defended China's countermeasures as entirely "legitimate and reasonable," telling the Canadian side to correct its "wrong practices" to provide a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable environment for the two countries' enterprises.