The Turkish president is hopeful that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine could hold a summit in Istanbul to help bring an end to the war between the two countries, he said on Friday.
“We’d be very happy if we could realize the decision to turn this negative course of events into a positive one with the two leaders,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.
In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29 as the war entered its second month with casualties piling up on both sides.
During the talks, Ukrainian officials signaled readiness to negotiate a “neutral status,” a key Russian demand, but demanded security guarantees for their country.
Russia, meanwhile, pledged to significantly decrease its military activities toward the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to build up trust for future negotiations.
Ukraine wants to see countries, including Turkiye, as guarantors in a deal with Russia, a Ukrainian negotiator said after the talks.
Sea mines
On drifting sea mines in the Black Sea region, Erdogan said: “As of now, there is no problem, but we’re not going to let our guard down.”
At least two such mines have been defused by Turkish authorities so far. Another was defused by the country’s neighbor Bulgaria, which also has a shore to the Black Sea.
The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,232 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,935 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.
More than 4 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
Source: Anadolu Agency
