President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Turkey would support a peace process for Ukraine that includes “all parties,” the Turkish presidency said.
According to a statement from his office, Erdoğan said Turkey had “sincerely strived for a just peace since the beginning of the war” and backs efforts aimed at establishing “lasting peace with the participation of all parties.”
Turkey, which maintains ties with both Ukraine and Russia, has hosted three rounds of negotiations between the two countries since May. Ankara has repeatedly voiced support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity but has avoided joining Western sanctions on Moscow.
The latest phone call came as international diplomacy around the war intensified. US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Washington on Monday, days after his meeting with Putin in Alaska.
On Tuesday NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also spoke with Erdoğan while returning from Washington. The Turkish presidency said the two discussed Turkey’s role in the peace process “as one of NATO’s most important countries” and agreed to stay in close coordination. They also exchanged views on possible security guarantees, without elaborating.
© Agence France-Presse