Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın warned that there is a risk of nuclear war amid the ongoing developments in Russia and Ukraine.

"The war is not just happening on Russia’s and Ukraine’s territory. There have been talks about the risk of nuclear war in the past month or so," he told a live broadcast on CNN Türk on Thursday.

Warning about the risk of nuclear warheads owned by Russia, Kalın said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discusses the threats with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.

"But as this war gets prolonged and extended, this risk will always come up," Kalın said, adding that Ankara has been taking new steps to end the war.

Regarding the grain corridor initiative led by Türkiye and the U.N., Kalın said President Erdoğan’s leadership diplomacy has produced results in a short period of time, as he spoke with Putin to convince him that it is a humanitarian initiative. Besides Russia’s cooperation, Kalın also praised Ukraine for its constructive stance.

He continued by criticizing Western countries, which call on Ankara to impose sanctions against Russia.

"If everybody burns their bridges with Russia, who will speak with Moscow? Our president is the only leader able to do this," he said, adding that holding discussions was crucial for peace.

Kalın noted that Erdoğan will also speak with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss the cease-fire efforts.

NATO member Türkiye, which has stayed neutral throughout the conflict in Ukraine, has good relations with its two Black Sea neighbors – Russia and Ukraine and has refrained from joining Western sanctions on Moscow.

Türkiye twice hosted talks between Moscow and Kyiv, including a March in-person meeting between Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, the first high-level talks to take place after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

However, peace negotiations have since stalled and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would not hold any talks with Putin after the Kremlin claimed to have annexed four territories of Ukraine.

Türkiye and the United Nations had brokered a landmark deal with Moscow and Kyiv that designated three ports for Ukraine to send much-needed grain supplies through a Russian blockade.

But Russia has criticized the deal, complaining its own exports had suffered and claiming without evidence that most deliveries were arriving in Europe, not in developing countries where grain was needed most. After briefly suspending the deal last weekend, Moscow announced its return to the terms of the agreement on Wednesday.

Türkiye also played a key role in one of the largest prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine since the start of Moscow's military campaign, in which over 200 prisoners were released.