Turkey says Russia and Ukraine nearing agreement on 鈥榗ritical鈥� issues
A deal might guarantee Ukraine鈥檚 security while keeping it outside NATO. But Russia-Ukraine rifts remain over Crimea and Donbas, Turkey's foreign minister says.
A deal might guarantee Ukraine鈥檚 security while keeping it outside NATO. But Russia-Ukraine rifts remain over Crimea and Donbas, Turkey's foreign minister says.
Turkey鈥檚 foreign minister聽said in an interview published on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine were nearing agreement on 鈥渃ritical鈥� issues and he was hopeful for a ceasefire if the two sides did not backtrack聽from progress achieved so far.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. President Vladimir Putin has called Russia鈥檚 actions a 鈥渟pecial operation鈥� meant to demilitarize Ukraine and purge it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an aggressive war of choice.
Foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya earlier this month with聽Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu聽also attending. The discussions did not yield concrete results.
But Cavusoglu, who聽also traveled聽to Russia and Ukraine last week for聽talks聽with Lavrov and Kuleba, told Turkish daily Hurriyet that there had been 鈥渞approchement in the positions of both sides on important subjects, critical subjects.鈥�
鈥淲e can say we are hopeful for a ceasefire if the sides do not take a step back from the current positions,鈥� he said,聽without elaborating on the issues.
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, speaking to al Jazeera television, said the two sides were getting closer on four key issues. He cited Russia鈥檚 demand for Ukraine to renounce ambitions to join NATO, demilitarization, what Russia has referred to as 鈥渄e-nazification,鈥� and the protection of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West have dismissed Russian references to 鈥渘eo-Nazis鈥� in Ukraine鈥檚聽democratically elected leadership聽as baseless propaganda,聽and Kalin said such references were offensive to Kyiv.
Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in聽talks聽last week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine鈥檚 security, while keeping it outside NATO, though each sides accused the other of dragging matters out.聽Read full story
Kalin聽said a permanent ceasefire could聽come聽only through a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But he said Putin felt that positions on the 鈥渟trategic issues鈥� of Crimea and Donbas were not close enough for a meeting.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 while part of the eastern industrial Donbas region was seized by Russian-backed separatist forces that year.
NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good relations with both and has offered to mediate between them.
It has voiced support for Ukraine, but has also opposed far-reaching Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the invasion.
While forging close ties with Russia on energy, defense and trade and relying heavily on Russian tourists, Turkey has sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow.
Turkey also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as聽Moscow鈥檚聽annexation of Crimea.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey will not abandon its聽relations聽with Russia or Ukraine, saying Ankara鈥檚 ability to speak to both sides was an asset.
This article is by Reuters. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; editing by Mark Heinrich.