ISTANBUL, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election and offered to mediate between Moscow and Ukraine, the Turkish Presidential Palace announced.
The Turkish Presidential Palace said that in a telephone conversation President Erdogan expressed his belief in the continued positive development of relations between Turkey and Russia and expressed Turkey’s readiness to play the role of a mediator in returning to the negotiating table with Ukraine.
This is not the first time that Erdogan has offered to act as a mediator in the war in an effort to maintain friendly relations with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
All three countries have coastlines facing the Black Sea, and Turkey controls access to the Black Sea through the Turkish Straits.
President Erdogan welcomed President Zelensky in Istanbul in early March, and President Putin was due to visit Turkey in February however, he called off the trip.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s top diplomat, Hakan Fidan, criticized the “dangerous” rhetoric of Europe and Moscow.
“This war must end,” he said in an interview with CNN Turk aired Monday evening.
“On both sides, tens of thousands of mothers are burying their children and it’s continuing. Both sides have only too much to lose and nothing to gain,” he said.
Fidan feared a risk of proliferation in the region, warning that talking about “European troops, the nuclear threat, all of this is dangerous”.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out the possibility of Western forces in Ukraine, but doubled down on the idea over the weekend, saying a Western ground operation in Ukraine might be necessary “at some point”.
Meanwhile, President Putin warned last month that nuclear weapons could be used if Western countries decide to escalate the conflict.
“Turkey is one of the rare NATO countries calling for peace. Our president is calling for peace,” Turkey’s top diplomat said.
