Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Türkiye has reaffirmed its readiness to host negotiations aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan region, Ushakov addressed several issues on Moscow’s agenda, including the Ukraine war and recent diplomatic contacts.
Recalling that several rounds of negotiations had previously been held between Russia and Ukraine, Ushakov pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan a day earlier.
“Turkish authorities confirmed that they are ready to provide a platform for negotiations on resolving the Ukraine issue,” Ushakov said.
He added that recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia did not bring a possible meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy any closer.
Referring to the G7 leaders summit hosted by France, Ushakov said Ukraine had been among the issues discussed at the gathering.
“Useful, or even harmful, ideas were probably imposed on U.S. President Donald Trump there,” he said. “The Europeans insist that the war must continue. They proceed from the assumption that the situation on the battlefield favors Ukraine. This is a false assumption.”
Ushakov said Moscow had not had contact with the U.S. administration following the summit and was waiting to receive information from the American side regarding its outcomes.
He also said U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to visit Russia soon, although the date has not yet been finalized.
Türkiye has sought to maximize diplomatic efforts since the first days of the war, positioning itself as one of the few actors able to maintain open channels with both Moscow and Kyiv. Ankara previously succeeded in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table in Istanbul, where talks produced no lasting settlement but still marked some of the most concrete steps toward dialogue since the start of the conflict.
Rather than taking sides between Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has pursued a balanced policy shaped by its broader foreign policy approach, prioritizing the prevention of further escalation and the restoration of peace.
Although the war in Ukraine has lost some of the momentum seen in its early stages, it continues to shape regional and global politics and remains at the center of international diplomatic efforts.
Fidan’s latest visit, like Ankara’s previous high-level contacts, placed efforts to find a path toward ending the war high on the agenda. Türkiye has maintained frequent contact with both sides through diplomatic visits and leader-to-leader engagement, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s direct diplomacy with Putin and Zelenskyy.
