Turkey has closed its airspace to Russian military and civilian flights to Syria after notifying Moscow, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Saturday.
“We were giving permissions in three-month intervals. The latest one was until April,” the minister said in an interview with the press during his flight to Latin America, stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had informed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. “Henceforth the flights have stopped,” Çavuşoğlu added, saying that the process is being conducted through dialogue on both the Montreux Convention and other matters.
Regarding the Russian oligarchs coming to Turkey, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey is not participating in sanctions. “If a company wants to do business, they must comply by our and international law,” the minister added.
The foreign minister also touched on the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, saying there is a “comprehensive text” in the works as well as backdoor diplomacy running. “We also see there is a draft joint declaration in this process. The focus is on impartiality, security and guarantees,” adding that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would need to reach the final decision.
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.
