Despite problems and preventions from the Western world, Türkiye will continue its efforts for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed, stressing Ankara will use its diplomatic means to this end.
“We are not going to give up our efforts for peace. We will continue to do whatever is necessary for reaching peace [between Russia and Ukraine],” Erdoğan told a group of journalists on his return from Egypt on Feb. 15.
On a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement that talks between Moscow and Kiev under the Turkish mediation in 2022 have been suspended because of the West’s interference, Erdoğan supported the interpretation of the Russian leader as “sincere.”
“I should put bluntly that there is sincerity in Mr. Putin’s statements. We have taken all the possible genuine steps in those talks, dubbed the Istanbul Process,” he said, recalling, however, that these efforts remained futile.
“But, we cannot give up just because we could not get the desired results [from the earlier efforts],” Erdoğan underlined.
Türkiye had engaged with both warring countries right after the war started in early 2022 and brought them together in Antalya and Istanbul, but these efforts could not be accomplished at that time.
Erdoğan said Türkiye was ready to launch a new process in case both sides are willing to do so as was seen in brokering the grain initiative in mid-2022. “We can do it [by bringing the two sides together] again and open the doors for peace through a result-oriented process. We still look for such an opportunity in our talks with both Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodmyry] Zelensky,” he stated.
“What we say from the very beginning is that a fair peace is much better than war, and we take all our steps in line with this understanding. As long as we seek for peace, we’ll definitely find a way,” the president added.
hurriyetdailynews.com.tr