Turkish foreign minister on Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations: ‘Talks in Istanbul hopefully may open new chapter'

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed hope that Thursday's peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul might pave the way for a fresh start.

“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Hakan Fidan said in his welcoming speech at the opening of an informal NATO foreign ministers meeting.

“The talks in Istanbul, hopefully, may open a new chapter,” Fidan said.

Fidan also stressed the need to establish a security network across NATO stretching from US state of Texas to the Turkish capital Ankara.

In the opening speech of the event, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated the “importance” of the meeting and the need to discuss how to strengthen the alliance so that nobody dares attack it.

“We need to discuss how to make sure that NATO will be stronger. That means more defense spending. That means more defense industrial production, but also how to make sure that NATO is fair, that we equally distribute the burden amongst allies,” he said.