Türkiye ideal host for potential upcoming talks between Russia, Ukraine, and US: Erdogan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) attend a ceremony for signing bilateral agreements at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Türkiye, Feb. 18, 2025. (AA Photo)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Tuesday that Türkiye would be an ideal host for potential upcoming talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. aimed at ending the three-year-long conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.
Erdogan, addressing a joint press conference with visiting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelesnkyy in Ankara, said Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are Türkiye’s sine qua non.
Erdogan said during his meeting with Zelenskyy he underlined that Ankara will provide all kind of support to have negotiations that end in lasting peace.
‘Peace has no losers’
The war, which has caused many “innocent deaths” and enormous destruction, “must end now,” Erdogan added.
“We hosted direct negotiations between the two countries (Russia and Ukraine) in Istanbul in March 2022. As a result of our contacts with the parties, we launched the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In the last three years, we have made direct initiatives with Russia and Ukraine at all levels. In all these efforts, we have sincerely endeavored to be a reliable mediator for both sides, and we have achieved concrete results,” he added.
He also argued that peace has no losers and the entire world was now waiting for an end to the war.
This was the reason why we wanted the establishment of the grain corridor and we had a good result in the grain corridor, but unfortunately we could not ensure its continuation. As much as 30,000 tons of grain was sent across,” he added.
Moscow did not extend the deal after July 2023, citing restrictions on Russian grain exports.
Ukraine ‘greatly’ values relations with Türkiye
Meanwhile, Ukraine “greatly” values its relations with Türkiye and the stance on the country’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Ukraine greatly values its relations with Türkiye, the mutual understanding we share, and the support we receive in this extraordinary time of war. We are grateful for the warm welcome, hospitality and absolutely constructive approach in our negotiations,” Zelenskyy, who also addressed a joint press conference with Erdogan, said on X.
He said he discussed with Erdogan the “global processes” that could contribute to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, including the importance of joint efforts to ensure security guarantees for Kyiv.
“We also talked about our bilateral relations, economic issues, cooperation between our societies in education, various projects, food security, and work on the return of our prisoners held by Russia,” the Ukrainian president said.
“We are grateful to Türkiye for all the support to our country and people, for its principled stance on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state.”
Ukraine and Türkiye signed two bilateral agreements on education and media cooperation.
Zelenskyy’s visit came just shy of the third anniversary of the Ukraine war, which US President Donald Trump has vowed to end swiftly.
Meanwhile earlier in the day, Russian and U.S. delegations met in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the first high-level talks since the Ukraine war started in February 2022. They agreed for more talks on ending the war and to improve bilateral ties.
