Erdogan: We are ready to host a peace summit involving Russia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again offered his country as a platform for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, the Ankara-based leader said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
According to Ukrainskaia Pravda, Erdogan "honestly shared his observations and thoughts" regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war and stressed that Turkey supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the establishment of lasting peace.
President Erdogan also stated that the war is having a growing negative impact, expressing his regret that the potential of the negotiation platform that Turkey created in March 2022 was not used.
"From the beginning, we have done and continue to contribute to the end of the war based on negotiations. We are ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be involved," the Turkish president said.
He added that Ankara offers its support for new agreements between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, such as the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Zelenski, for his part, noted that he spoke with Erdogan about the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland and counts on Turkey's leadership role in implementing this initiative.
According to Zelensky, it seems that during the negotiations, Erdogan convinced him to involve Russia in this format as well, although the president did not say it directly, the Ukrainian press also writes.
“Regarding the format of the inaugural summit... We do not see how it is possible to invite people who block, destroy and kill everything. We want to achieve a result: a fair and just peace for Ukraine. Therefore, first let the civilised countries of the world develop a detailed plan and have results, and only then will they involve the representatives of Russia, those who are ready for a just peace," Zelensky noted.
It is worth noting that Erdogan has repeatedly stated that Ankara is in favour of ending the war through negotiations and is ready to provide a platform for the appropriate "negotiations".
Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, stated the need for negotiations regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
