Turkey confirmed on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have made progress in their negotiations to end the Russian invasion and are close to reaching an agreement.
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Of course, it is not easy to reach an understanding during the war, and civilians are killed, but we would like to say that the momentum is progressing, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut. The official Turkish Anadolu Agency from the southern province of Antalya.
“We see that the two sides are close to an agreement,” he added.
Mr. Cavusoglu visited Russia and Ukraine this week. Turkey, a NATO member, is stepping up mediation efforts between Moscow and Kiev and has refused to join Western sanctions targeting Russia.
It managed to maintain contacts with the two countries, and last week welcomed Russian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba to Antalya for their first meeting since the conflict began on February 24.
According to Mr. Cavusoglu, Turkey is in contact with the negotiating teams of the two countries. However, he refused to reveal the details of the talks because “we play the role of an honest mediator and facilitator.”
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, in an interview with Hurriyet daily, said the two sides are negotiating six points: Ukraine’s neutrality, disarmament and security guarantees, the so-called removal of anger, and the removal of obstacles to the use of the Russian system. Language in Ukraine, the status of the breakaway region of Donbass and the status of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for peace and demanded that Russia hold serious talks to end the invasion.
“It is time to work together. It is time for discussion. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice to Ukraine,” he said on Saturday in a video posted on social media.
Turkey has said it is ready to host a meeting between Mr. Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are working day and night for peace,” Cavusoglu said on Sunday.
