President of Turkey Ready to Become Mediator in Negotiations Between Ukraine and Russia

Ankara may become a mediator in the talks between Kyiv and Moscow as the Turkish side is interested in peace in the region. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a corresponding statement, returning home after a visit to Turkmenistan.

“Our position here is clear. We stand for peace in the region, especially for the Crimean Tatars. We have discussed these issues many times with friendly Russia, especially with Mr. Putin… There will be mediation, we will discuss this issue with them. We would like to take part in resolving this issue by developing these talks with both Ukraine and Putin,” Erdoğan stressed, Hurriyet reports.

At today’s briefing, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Turkish leader’s statement, reiterating the narrative that Russia is not a party to the conflict in the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“The fact is that Russia is not a party to the conflict over Donbas, and it will be impossible to find ways to solve the problem at such a summit. The parties to the conflict are Kyiv and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics,” Peskov added.

As a reminder, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky declared at a press marathon last week that Kyiv submitted the verified lists of the captured Ukrainian citizens for an exchange to Moscow through Erdoğan.

Bohdan Marusyak