Russia and Ukraine are trading accusations of violating a ceasefire over a strike on energy infrastructure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Andri Sibikh spoke on various panels at the Antalya diplomatic forum in Turkey, and denounced each other on offensive energy sites.
Lavrov said Russia has not attacked Ukrainian energy facilities when Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to halt the attack on Ukrainian energy facilities for 30 days over a call with US President Donald Trump.
Lavrov accused Ukraine of violating the terms of the US-brokered deal, and said it provided a list of energy sites targeted by Ukraine to various political parties involved in its diplomatic efforts.
“We’ve kept this word, and Ukrainians have attacked us every day, with probably two or three exceptions,” Lavrov said.
“I list the facts I have given to (foreign) Minister (Hakan) Fidan, Americans, the United Nations, OSCE (European Security Cooperation Agency), and Ukrainian attacks over the past three weeks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.”
Sybiha contested Lavrov’s claims, accusing Russia of not being serious about peace and claiming that the Kremlin has fired thousands of projectiles in Ukraine in the past few weeks.
“Russia escalated and fought fear, and with me I had statistics, fighting around 70 missiles, over 2,000 Shahed drones and over 6,000 guided air bombs from Ukraine.
Lavrov also warned that the issue of port access for Russian organisations can only be carried out after the issue has been resolved.
Details of future deals have not been announced, but appear to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea transport after the 2022 agreement, which was mediated by the UN and Turkey but was stopped by Russia next year.
“This time, when President Trump proposed another Black Sea deal, Putin said, yeah, we’re ready, but we need to draw lessons from the past,” Lavrov said.
“Let’s solve the things about trade, insurance, port calls. The Americans took this. They’re considering it. They didn’t come back to us after this,” he added.
A top Russian diplomat said Washington is considering Moscow’s request but has not responded to them yet.
The White House said in March that the US will “help the access to the global market for Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports, helping to reduce maritime insurance costs and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he “will be assessing” the situation in Russia, some of which “are part of the European Union, including our sanctions.”
