A meeting last week in the capital Ankara raised hopes for Türkiye’s mediation for a humanitarian solution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The two countries’ human rights officials met on the sidelines of an international ombudsmans’ conference while Türkiye expressed interest to work on a humanitarian corridor between the two nations. The Hürriyet newspaper reported on Monday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days to achieve this goal.
Ankara, already engaged in efforts to end the conflict nearing its second year, aspires to ensure the safety of the wounded, the elderly, women and children affected by the war.
Türkiye’s Chief Ombudsman Şeref Malkoç hosted eight meetings between the two sides during last week’s event in the capital Ankara. Hürriyet reported that the sides agreed upon a three-stage plan and that the Ukrainian and Russian sides presented a list of 800 and 200 individuals, respectively, for a potential prisoner swap. Malkoç asked the sides to take concrete steps and talk to their leaders for the establishment of a mechanism.
UNICEF proposed Türkiye’s Ombudsman Institution headed by Malkoç to serve as a bridge of assistance for unaccompanied minors affected by the conflict three months ago. Prompted by the proposal, Malkoç contacted his counterparts in the two countries. He received affirmative answers from Ukraine and Russia, though changing dynamics of the conflict pushed back plans for humanitarian action.
The Turkish newspaper reported that both sides hurled accusations at each other about the conflict during their meeting before Malkoç intervened and urged them to focus on the humanitarian side of the conflict. Eventually, the two sides initially agreed on a prisoner swap involving about 40 people.
Malkoç told the newspaper that he asked the two ombudsmen to work on establishing a mechanism and voiced Türkiye’s support for efforts in that regard. Malkoç said he would continue holding online talks with the two ombudsmen in the coming days and their talks would shape future steps.
“Taking the first step is important. It is not an easy task. We proposed setting up a humanitarian corridor through Istanbul. We did not talk yet about whether it would be by air, sea or land. It is still early, but we are exerting efforts,” he said.
