President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the situation in the Russia-Ukraine war as part of this week's NATO leaders' summit, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said Monday, underlining that Turkey will keep communication channels open with both Russia and Ukraine.
Kalın told reporters in the capital Ankara that Erdoğan will consult with NATO leaders on the nearly month-old war and the steps to be taken from this point forward.
Turkey will keep communication channels open with both Russia and Ukraine and intensify efforts to bring the two parties together to solve problems, Kalın added.
He added that Turkey is a country that can negotiate with Russia and Ukraine and has the trust of both countries.
Stressing that Erdoğan will present a perspective on relations between Russia and NATO and the Western alliance after the war ends, he said that they place great importance on the summit in this respect.
Erdoğan will give "very important messages" about both the unity and solidarity of the NATO alliance, he added.
Turkey has been a member of the NATO alliance for over 70 years.
During the summit, leaders will discuss steps to strengthen the alliance, increase solidarity and end the war, Kalın said.
He added that Erdoğan is also expected to meet with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.
"The world cannot afford another cold war. It will be costly for everyone. The Ukraine war has already caused enough pain, suffering and killing. It must stop. Turkey will continue its efforts to end this war. Peace is hard but not impossible. We all have to believe in it," Kalın also said on Twitter Tuesday.
Support from Italy
Italy fully supports Turkey's mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine, the country's foreign minister also said on Monday.
"Turkey is not only a NATO ally, but it is also an important country for the dialogue to bring the parties to a peace agreement at this stage," Luigi Di Maio told reporters after an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, the bloc's de facto capital.
He said Italy "fully supports" the negotiations that Turkey has brought forward.
Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Turkey says it can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but says that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.
Ankara hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month. Foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met for talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, which Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara considers the fact that they took place at all a success.
Recently, Ukraine said it was working with Turkey and Israel as mediators to set a place and framework for talks with Russia. Lavrov also said that Moscow views mediation offers from Turkey and Israel to resolve the crisis in Ukraine positively.
Saying that he met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Maio added that they discussed how the negotiations were going.
Maio said this week's NATO leaders' summit and EU leaders' summit, also set to be attended by Biden, are important for showing that NATO and the EU are united on the Ukraine war.
Saying that establishing a general cease-fire in Ukraine is difficult, he added that Italy conveyed to the EU its request that the bloc take the initiative on a regional cease-fire for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of essential supplies to besieged areas.
Italy is also fully open to a fifth package of sanctions against Russia, he said, adding that they are waiting for the EU Commission proposal on the issue.
According to U.N. estimates, at least 925 civilians have been killed and nearly 1,500 others injured in Ukraine since Russia began its attack on its western neighbor on Feb. 24.
The hostilities have also driven 10 million people from their homes either internally or as refugees abroad, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. 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. Having recently called Russia’s invasion an unacceptable violation of international law, Turkey has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense and tourism ties.
While forging close ties with Russia on energy, defense and trade and relying heavily on Russian tourists, Turkey has sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow. Turkey also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as Moscow's annexation of Crimea. Erdoğan has repeatedly said Turkey will not abandon its relations with Russia or Ukraine, underlining that Ankara's ability to speak to both sides is an asset.