Turkey Brings Russian, Ukrainian FMs Together At Antalya Forum, Gives Platform to Taliban

NEW DELHI: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba both appeared at Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Friday, a source invited to the event confirmed to The New Indian.

This is the first high-level contact between two adversaries since Russia’s attack on Ukraine about a fortnight back.

Speaking at the event, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said, “There is one man who is not interested in peace. His name is Vladimir Putin.”

Joining the event virtually from war-hit Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed to world leaders to take immediate action against Russia’s military attack on his country.

“We argue that the problem should be resolved by diplomacy,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Foreign Minister of host Turkey.

Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi and Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Acting Afghan Minister for Culture and Information were seen exchanging greetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu on the opening day of the event. Both the ministers of the Taliban are scheduled to address the forum members.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg vehemently criticized Russia for attacking the former Soviet Union state.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered the inaugural speech at the second round of Antalya Diplomacy Forum which began in the resort city of Antalya on March 11 and will conclude on March 13.

Fifteen heads of state or government, 67 ministerial figures and 44 high-profile representatives from international as well as intergovernmental organizations are participating in the high-level diplomatic conclave, which is an initiative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

“ADF is a brainchild of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu,” a participant told The New Indian.

More ministers and political figures joined the event through video conference. The theme of the conclave is “Recording Diplomacy”. The inaugural round of Antalya Diplomacy Forum had witnessed the participation of 11 heads of state and 45 ministers last year.