While on the ground, in Ukraine, the bombardments continue, behind the scenes, the negotiations continue.
A third round of talks between Ukrainians and Russians should thus begin this Monday at 3 p.m. (from Paris) in Belarus, a Ukrainian negotiator announced on Twitter.
“Third round.
Start at 4 p.m. Kyiv time.
Delegation unchanged,” wrote Mykhaïlo Podoliak, member of the Ukrainian delegation, posting his photo with a helicopter in the background.
According to Russian agencies, the Russian delegation arrived in Belovejskaya Poucha, a locality in the Brest region near the border with Poland where the second round was held.
The two previous rounds of negotiations, also held in Belarus, an ally of Moscow, did not yield results.
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Alongside these discussions, Turkey seems determined to bring the two parties closer together.
The head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, announced on Monday the holding of a trilateral meeting next Thursday in Antalya (south) with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, the first meeting between the two men since the start of the war.
The meeting was immediately confirmed by Moscow.
Turkey is organizing a three-day Diplomatic Forum to which it had invited Sergei Lavrov, who confirmed his arrival this weekend, according to the Turkish government, which also hoped to convince Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian minister.
"Following the initiatives of our President and our intense diplomatic efforts, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine have decided to meet with my participation on the sidelines" of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, March 10 , Cavusoglu said in a message on Twitter.
This will be Lavrov's first exit since the start of hostilities outside Russia, targeted by numerous Western sanctions which isolate him from the rest of the world.
Erdogan as a conciliator?
A member of NATO and an ally of Ukraine, Turkey also maintains close ties with Russia and has taken care since the start of the conflict to maintain an open line with the two capitals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart on Sunday, calling for an "urgent general ceasefire" in Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin in return demanded that Russia's conditions be met first. are fulfilled.
"An urgent and general ceasefire will make it possible to seek a political solution and to respond to humanitarian concerns," said the Turkish head of state.
He also called for the “urgent” opening of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has tried a perilous exercise in balance: "Do not abandon Kiev or Moscow" and "do not give in to Turkey's interests", summed up President Erdogan on the first day of the war on February 24, when he was heavily involved in promoting mediation between the two countries.
