Turkey says Bucha killings ‘overshadow’ Russia-Ukraine talks

By AFP 7 April 2022, 5:04 pm

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A body of a civilian man with hands tied behind his back lies in the street as a communal worker prepares a plastic body bag to carry him to a waiting car in town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Images of bodies found in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and other areas near Kyiv in the wake of a Russian pullback have scuppered the positive atmosphere of recent talks between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey says.

“The images from Bucha, Irpin and other regions are unacceptable. These scenes have overshadowed the negotiations,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tells journalists after a NATO meeting in Brussels.

“The emerging positive atmosphere, unfortunately, was overshadowed.”

NATO member Turkey, which has friendly ties to Russia and Ukraine, has been mediating for an end to the six-week war. Turkey hosted talks last week between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. On March 31, Cavusoglu had said the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers could meet within two weeks.