Lavrov says Russia awaits answers from Ukraine and wants Belarus as a venue for negotiations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a press conference in Antalya, Turkey

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Russia has submitted proposals to Ukraine and wants a response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey.

Lavrov said Moscow wanted what he called a friendly, demilitarized Ukraine, and reiterated Russian demand that Ukraine adopt a neutral status.

Kuleba said Russia was demanding Ukraine’s surrender two weeks after Moscow began its invasion of the country.

There was no discussion of a ceasefire and the talks focused on humanitarian issues, according to Lavrov.

He said the venue for diplomacy should be Belarus, an ally of Moscow, where Russian and Ukrainian officials have already held several rounds of talks.

Russia does not want the negotiations in Turkey to “replace or devalue the real and main diplomatic avenue that is taking place on Belarusian territory,” Lavrov said.

Talks in Belarus have so far produced only limited progress in opening humanitarian corridors.

Lavrov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not refuse a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but that the meeting would have to be substantive and focus on details.

(Report by Reuters)