Kuleba on talks with Lavrov: we'll extort as much as possible, but expectations are low
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was going to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a strong position, but expectations from this meeting were restrained.
He said this during a live stream on Facebook.
Kuleba noted that preparations were underway for tomorrow's talks with Minister Lavrov.
"We are working very hard to carry them out as effectively as possible. I will say frankly that my expectations from the talks are limited. I do not place any inflated expectations on them, but we will certainly push to the maximum," said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
He noted that the demands of the Ukrainian side are a ceasefire, the liberation of our territories, and the elimination of the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Russian army.
Kuleba noted that due to the heroism of Ukraine's defense forces, the inviolability of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's position, and coordinated actions with partners to impose sanctions, support Ukraine's defense and isolate Russia, he is going to these talks with a strong position.
"We are strong, we are confident and we will do our best in the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. What we get is another matter. It depends, among other things, on what instructions and directives Mr. Lavrov is going to these talks with," remarked Kuleba.
He expressed hope that the Russian minister would approach the talks "in good faith, not from a propaganda perspective, but really with the task of finding a solution on how to end the war waged by Russia."
