The ongoing war in Ukraine cannot be stopped with "piecemeal gains" and a high-level security agreement between the West and Russia is necessary to end the war, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said.
"30 years after the end of the Cold War, Russia tells the West: 'Let's make a new agreement, strike a new bargain, and build a new global security architecture. Let me be in it, (where I) feel safe, let the West, Ukraine, Europe, and NATO be in it, as well'," Kalın told the Habertürk news channel on Sunday.
Without bargaining for such an agreement at the strategic level, Kalın said, he "does not believe that the Ukrainian war can be ended with piecemeal gains (by either side)."
"This is the impression I got during my meeting with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," he added.
When asked "Will Putin take Ukraine city after city?" Kalın said: "No, he (Putin) said, they have no intention of continuing this war forever. But the major question on the table is what an honorable way out for both sides will be."
About Türkiye's suggestion, Kalın said: "We have a suggestion. Let me not say 'plan' in order not to be misunderstood, there is a perspective – that we are working on in this regard. But I have to say that at the moment, the international atmosphere is in favor of war rather than peace. The great powers want this war to continue."
"You know, they called it a war of attrition at first...We saw that this would not happen, in fact, you know, if Russia had been brought to heel in the first six months with economic sanctions and other things, it would have already been brought to its knees," he added.
Regarding the ongoing war since last February, Kalın said it had a "very serious" economic and military cost, adding that even today, in the Bakhmut region, where conflicts are intense, 100-200 people from both sides are dying.
"There is a very bloody war there, unfortunately. The attention of the world has turned to other places, but the war continues there with all its violence. It is not possible to say that Russia has won, and it is not possible to say that Ukraine has won too," he added.
Russia has long said it was leading a struggle against the United States' dominance over the international stage and argues the Ukraine offensive is part of that fight. The Kremlin said it had no choice but to continue its more than yearlong offensive in Ukraine, seeing no diplomatic solution.
Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, frequently note that Türkiye wants to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiation table and put an end to the ongoing war.
NATO member Türkiye, having close relations with both Black Sea nations, positioned itself as a neutral broker for peace.
Türkiye frequently voiced that Russia's war on Ukraine "will not end easily," despite Ankara's repeated efforts to arrange peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Ankara initially aims to broker a humanitarian cease-fire, which would be followed by a permanent cease-fire and subsequent peace talks.
