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Lavrov to discuss Ukraine at Antalya Forum but not with Kiev’s top diplomat — Russian MFA

According to Maria Zakharova, "the situation around Ukraine will be discussed literally at every meeting"

MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Senior Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov intends to hold multiple bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Antalya Forum, which will particularly address the Ukraine issue, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Work is underway on the schedule of the bilateral meetings that Lavrov will hold on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. There will be numerous meetings," she told a briefing. According to Zakharova, "the situation surrounding Ukraine will be discussed at virtually every meeting."

"Will there be a separate meeting specifically dedicated to this particular topic? I don’t have information on that," Zakharova added.

Meanwhile, the top Russian diplomat is not expected to hold a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian foreign minister. "They did not send any requests to us," Zakharova said, when asked if Lavrov could meet with his Ukrainian counterpart on the sidelines of the event.

Zakharova has so far named only one official Lavrov will meet with at the Antalya Forum. "I can tentatively say that a meeting with the host country, that is, with the senior Turkish diplomat, is in the works," she specified, adding: "As well as with a number of foreign ministers from other countries that will be attending the conference." The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out that "all this is still being arranged as the program is just being developed."

Antalya Diplomacy Forum

The Antalya Forum, themed Restoring Diplomacy in a Fragmented World, will take place under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 11-13. The event is expected to bring together some 4,800 representatives of 148 countries, including 18 heads of state. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will join the forum’s participants on April 12; he will address the event and hold a number of bilateral meetings, Zakharova said.

Yonca Gunduz Ozceri, one of the forum’s coordinators, told reporters that the event was planned to address pressing international issues, including ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, and the situations in the Gaza Strip and Syria.

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