Turkey is ready to host a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday and reiterated the need for an urgent cease-fire.
Speaking to reporters during an official visit to Uzbekistan, Erdoğan said that he believes that the meetings held by the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul gave a meaningful impetus to the peace process.
“Russia’s decision to significantly reduce its military operations in Kyiv and Chernihiv is indeed an important step. Likewise, the statements of the heads of state that they can come together when an agreement is reached show how important this step is. We expect them to be implemented and for the war to end before it causes more death and destruction.”
Expressing his happiness over Turkey being host to such an important meeting thanks to its active diplomacy and balanced approach, Erdoğan said: “I am determined to hold talks with both Mr. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Mr. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy as soon as I return. In these meetings, we will express my thanks to both of them on behalf of myself and my nation and say, ‘Our goal is to bring you together as soon as possible.’ I hope that we will get a historical record from them at the point of putting them together. In this context, we are ready to host the meeting to be held at the level of heads of state. But in the meantime, it is of great importance to ensure a temporary cease-fire.”
“I think that peace is the most important solution and way out. From this point of view, I hope we can be instrumental in bringing this work to an end as soon as possible. As Turkey, it will make us happy to have completed this work with the confidence of both Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy in such a process,” he said.
Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Turkey says it can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but says that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first. The latest round of talks hosted by Turkey on Tuesday lasted three hours and Russian and Ukrainian negotiators later held separate news conferences to inform the world about the outcome. While Ukraine has called for several countries, including Turkey, to be guarantors in a possible future peace deal, Russia announced it will significantly decrease military activities in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase trust for future negotiations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the meeting in Istanbul “the most meaningful progress since the start of negotiations” so far and pointed to an emerging rapprochement between the countries. The talks hosted by Turkey sketched out what could end up being a framework for ending the war. The talks had been expected to resume on Wednesday, but Çavuşoğlu said the two sides were bringing the proposals back to their capitals.
At the conference in Istanbul, Ukraine’s delegation laid a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations. Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said negotiators would take Ukraine’s proposals to Russian President Putin and then Moscow would provide a response, but he did not say when.
Progress made at the peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkey may pave the way for a meeting at the leaders’ level, Erdoğan said Tuesday. Ahead of the talks in Istanbul, Erdoğan met the Russian and Ukrainian delegations and reiterated his call for a cease-fire. “We believe that a just peace will have no losers, and a prolonged conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
Çavuşoğlu said the talks had made “meaningful” progress and the two sides had reached “a consensus and common understanding” on some issues. He said the meeting would be followed by one between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers at an unspecified time. A meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents is also “on the agenda,” he said. On the peace talks organized in the Turkish metropolis, he said: “It is an indication of the trust of the parties in Turkey.” He added that “the top priority is to achieve a cease-fire as soon as possible and pave the way for a permanent political solution.”
Turkey also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met for talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, which Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara considers the fact that they took place at all a success. -Agencies
