President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion and several other issues.
During the call, the two leaders discussed bilateral ties as well as the Russia-Ukraine crisis, according to a statement by the Communications Directorate.
Erdoğan explained to Biden the importance of Turkey playing a facilitative role in the search for a solution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis in the event it deepens further.
The recent tripartite meeting between Turkey, Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers in Antalya is a victory in itself, he underlined.
Erdoğan has been striving to facilitate diplomacy to put an end to the ongoing war, which has devastated the lives of innocent civilians in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a trilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu as part of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Thursday.
Unfortunately, Kuleba said the talks made "no progress" on achieving a cease-fire to the fighting that has caused 2.2 million refugees to flee across Ukraine's borders.
Turkey has called for humanitarian corridors in Ukraine to be kept open without any obstacles, Çavuşoğlu stated while underlining the need for a sustainable cease-fire.
Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles under a 1936 pact, allowing it to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing the Turkish Straits.
NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Having recently called Russia’s invasion an unacceptable violation of international law, Turkey has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense and tourism ties.
