As Turkey's diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine continue, diplomatic sources stated Wednesday that there may be a meeting within the scope of the humanitarian contact group between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.
Ankara has taken on a meditator role for a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Diplomatic sources underlined that the negotiation process continues amid the ongoing conflict. It was stated that there was an intense dialogue between the leaders and delegations of the two countries.
From the very first moment of the crisis, Turkey has shuttled between Kyiv and Moscow. However, the situation on the ground deteriorated even further, as it was expected that full peace would be achieved thanks to the diplomatic contact carried out. Diplomatic sources drew attention to an important meeting that is expected to take place soon.
Noting that the United Nations has made a proposal to establish a humanitarian contact group, sources added: "In the coming days, negotiations between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations may continue in this context. Technical meetings can be held between the parties."
Diplomatic sources also drew attention to the security guarantee aspects of the cease-fire negotiations.
Turkey is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
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. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29 as the war entered its second month, with casualties piling up on both sides.
During the talks, Ukrainian officials signaled readiness to negotiate a "neutral status," a key Russian demand, but demanded security guarantees for their country. Ukraine wants to see countries, including Turkey, as guarantors in a deal with Russia, a Ukrainian negotiator said after the talks. Russia, meanwhile, pledged to significantly decrease its military activities focusing on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to build trust for future negotiations.
Turkey also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya in March.
New era in Turkey-Egypt ties
The sources, who also evaluated the new period in the relations between Turkey and Egypt, announced that there could be talks at the ministerial level after the meetings between the two countries at the level of deputy ministers.
The normalization of ties between Turkey and Egypt is vital for the Eastern Mediterranean, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said last month.
"Relations with Egypt must be improved. The two countries’ ties are significant for many regions. The reciprocal reappointment of ambassadors is possible," Çavuşoğlu said.
"A process has started. Two rounds of meetings have been held at the level of deputy ministers. Now the third round is possible. We may meet with Foreign Minister Shoukry and others," he added, saying that there are possible proposals for the near future but no date set.
Çavuşoğlu said there is a will on both sides to normalize ties. "Our efforts will continue in this regard."
Turkey has engaged in an effort to mend its frayed ties with regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey hopes to maximize its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis," at a time when Ankara intensified diplomacy to mend its fraught ties with Cairo and some Gulf Arab nations after years of tensions.
Egypt and Turkey have not shared ambassadors since 2013 when relations worsened following the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi by military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, now the country’s president. Turkey-Egypt ties have continued at the level of charge d'affairs since 2013. During this period, brief meetings were held between the foreign ministers of the two countries on various occasions.
Recently, however, signs of a possible reconciliation have come from both countries, particularly due to the changing dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Turkey-Greece crisis over the region’s energy resources.
Çavuşoğlu-Blinken meeting
In addition, according to information obtained from diplomatic sources, it was learned that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will go to the United States on May 18.
Çavuşoğlu will meet with his counterpart Antony Blinken there. It was stated that the strategic mechanism will be discussed in the meeting of the two ministers.
It was also emphasized that the focus will be on the resolution of conflicts between countries and the areas of cooperation will be emphasized.
The announcement of the new mechanism comes after the decades-old partnership between the two NATO allies, Turkey and the U.S., has gone through unprecedented tumult in recent years over disagreements on many issues, including Syria and Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow. There are additional sources of strain for the two countries, including the U.S. support for the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG, whom Turkey considers terrorists; and the continued U.S. residency of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) figures including its head Fetullah Gülen, who plotted the failed coup attempt against the Turkish government in 2016.