Turkey wants to bring Zelenskiy and Putin to the negotiating table. Details of Erdogan's discussion with the head of NATO
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed to the Secretary General of NATO, on Wednesday, during the meeting they had in Ankara, that Turkey is making efforts to resume negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as to launch a dialogue between the leaders of the two countries, according to the statement sent by the Turkish presidency, Reuters wrote.
According to the Turkish side, Erdogan told Mark Rutte that Ankara had taken steps “for the Ukraine-Russia war to end peacefully” and for “the start of talks at the leaders' level”.
Also on Wednesday, Ukraine announced it had asked Turkey to host a leaders' meeting with Russia. Ankara has maintained good relations with both Kiev and Moscow since the outbreak of the Kremlin-launched war in February 2022.
During the meeting in Ankara, according to the Turkish presidency, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told Mark Rutte that transatlantic relations are “indispensable”, but also that Turkey expects European NATO states to take greater responsibility for transatlantic security.
The war in the Middle East “starts to weaken Europe”, Erdogan warns
Later, Erdogan spoke on the phone with the German chancellor, the Turkish presidency announced, stating that he conveyed to Friedrich Merz that the war between the US and Iran is “beginning to weaken Europe” and the damage caused by the conflict will increase if world powers fail to intervene through “peace-oriented approaches”.
“Erdogan said that Turkey is working to end the war between Ukraine and Russia through negotiations and to reach a lasting peace, as it is trying to do with Iran,” the presidency said in a separate statement.
Turkey shares a border with Iran and has repeatedly called for an end to the war. Last weekend, Turkey hosted a diplomatic forum attended by delegates from all parties involved and is in close contact with the US, Iran and Pakistani mediators.
