Turkey will host the next round in face-to-face talks between Moscow and Kiev
Istanbul will host the next round face-to–face peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. Turkish President Recep Takyip Erdogan uses his strong relationships with the Black Sea neighbor to aid in ending the conflict.
David Arakhamia, the majority leader of Ukraine’s parliament and chief negotiator for Kiev, announced the latest peace talks on Sunday. These negotiations will take place between March 28 and 30, giving Ankara an important role in solving the crisis. Turkey hosted the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers earlier in this month.
As a NATO member, Turkey has tried to walk a fine line between condemning Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine and maintaining its close economic and defense ties with Moscow. Ankara opposes Western sanctions against Russia. However, it rejected an offer to let Russian warships sail through Turkey’s Straits to reach the Black Sea.
Speaking at the Doha Forum on Sunday, Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, cautioned against isolating Moscow, acknowledging that Russia “must be heard one way or another.”He said, “If everybody burns bridges with Russia, then who’s going to talk to them, at the end of the day?”
Erdogan apparently urged Putin to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine and improve humanitarian conditions during a phone call.
Turkey’s position is similar to that of South Africa, where President Cyril Ramaphosa has resisted international pressure to take a tougher anti-Moscow stance and has called for negotiations. Ramaphosa offered mediation in Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations and stated last week that NATO is at least partially to blame for the conflict.
READ MORE
President of South Africa blames NATO on Ukraine
“The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region,”According to the South African president,
[ad_2]
