Approach of ending conflict at negotiating table aligns with Turkish policy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan says after Cabinet meeting
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said Ankara welcomes “in principle” US President Donald Trump's intention to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war via talks, expressing Ankara's readiness to support a path to lasting peace, including hosting negotiations.
“The approach of ending the war at the negotiating table aligns with the policy Türkiye has pursued over the past several years,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Ukraine war, launched on Feb. 24, 2022.
"However, the reality that must not be overlooked here is that the path to a just and lasting peace can only be opened through a framework in which all relevant parties are represented,” he said.
Saying that Moscow has been excluded from negotiating tables that some have tried to set up so far, except for the Istanbul Process, Erdogan said this has meant they were fruitless, also urging Ukraine to be included in the new peace process, “if any result is to be obtained.”
“This war must be ended through mutual negotiations,” he added.
Stating that he welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week and on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Erdogan called the visits “extremely important.”
Highlighting Türkiye's stance that "war has no winner and peace, no losers,” Erdogan said: “During the days when almost everyone was fueling the fire, in March 2022 (just after the start of the war), we hosted direct negotiations between the two countries in Istanbul.
“As a result of the contacts we had with the parties, we launched the Black Sea Grain Initiative. We ensured that a total of 33,000 tons of grain reached global markets through the Turkish Straits. In doing so, we prevented a global food crisis,” he added.
Stressing that Türkiye's stance won “the trust of both countries with its balanced position,” Erdogan said that Ankara will do everything in its power to achieve a lasting and just peace.
Türkiye wants the war, which has cost lives of hundreds of thousands of people and caused both Russia and Ukraine to pay a heavy price, to come to an end, he added.
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