Turkey’s efforts for peace and stability in the Black Sea are ongoing, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, endangering the region.
“We are closely following the developments in Ukraine. First of all, we support the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. At all occasions, we underline the importance of urgently declaring a cease-fire to prevent the further loss of lives and ensure peace and stability,” Akar said at Bursa province’s Uludağ University.
He indicated that since the beginning of the conflict, Turkey has voiced it can facilitate the evacuation of civilians even via the ships that transport humanitarian aid.
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 received 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.
Within the scope of its mediation efforts, Turkey also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya last month. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya for talks, which Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his offer to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks to secure peace between the two countries. Erdoğan voiced hope that a possible summit between the two leaders in Istanbul could bring an end to the war.
On the issue of floating mines in the Bosporus, Akar said: “In order for the region’s stability to persist and to avoid any kind of escalation, we have taken the necessary precautions regarding floating mines with our mine-hunting ships, maritime patrol aircrafts, drones, helicopters and other elements.
He added that Turkey is fulfilling its responsibilities for peace including implementing the Montreux Convention.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, NATO member Turkey controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, linking the Mediterranean and Black seas. The pact gives Ankara the power to regulate the transit of naval warships and to close the straits to foreign warships during wartime and when it is threatened.
