Kuleba: Lavrov was not authorized to make decisions at meeting in Antalya

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was not authorized to make any decisions, in particular regarding humanitarian corridors, at the meeting in Antalya as he just came to the talks to "listen" to the Ukrainian side.

"At the meeting, I suggested a simple thing: ‘We have smartphones with us. I can call right now the President, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Commander-in-Chief, and I am 100% sure that they will provide all the guarantees that the humanitarian corridors will work and are ready to do so right now, in your presence. And you will do the same. I'm sure you have all contacts you need.’ He did not answer," Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference after the meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He noted that the Russian foreign minister did not have the authority to make any independent decisions and pointed out that he had come to Antalya to "listen" to the Ukrainian side. During the meeting, Lavrov was guided by well-known clichés instead of a serious substantive conversation, Kuleba noted.

Ukraine’s top diplomat stressed that he was ready to repeat this format of meeting with the Russian minister at the level of foreign ministers if it was of a substantive nature.

As reported, a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia took place in Antalya on March 10.

On February 24, president Putin announced the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying key infrastructure, massively hitting residential areas of Ukrainian towns and villages using artillery, multiple-launch rocket system, and ballistic missiles.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

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