Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that his country, earlier termed as an “ideal host” to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was ready to contribute to the process.
“We are working on a cease-fire (in the Russia-Ukraine conflict) and will certainly play an important role in ensuring and sustaining peace,” he said at a news conference in the capital Ankara with visiting Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Wednesday.
Fidan's remarks came on the heels of visits by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Ankara last week and this week amid a flurry of developments regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Trump administration in the United States stepped in to resolve the conflict, but Washington's proposals were not well received initially by Kyiv. Fidan, who met Lavrov on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Monday, said they desired an immediate end to the war without causing further destruction and losses.
The minister highlighted that Türkiye has endorsed initiatives involving both sides to achieve peace since the conflict began. Istanbul was the venue of landmark talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in March 2022, while Türkiye managed to bring sides together again the same year. Although talks did not eventually evolve into a peace deal, they helped ensure the delivery of crucial grain shipments.
Fidan also pointed out that their work and contacts to ensure a cease-fire included President Erdoğan's talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron apart from the president's talks with Zelenskyy. He said Türkiye was also in touch with other top officials, from Lavrov to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg, along with high-ranking Ukrainian and EU officials.
"Everybody agrees on the need for cease-fire but the sides should accept it first," Fidan stated. He said the sides were engaged in indirect talks and that "all actors in the process were talking to each other."
"Türkiye's stand has always been putting an end to this devastating war. We worked on the strategic and tactical levels but the sides failed to achieve momentum in talks. Today, with a new administration in the United States, new dynamics have emerged," he stated.
"Türkiye is a powerful, influential country in the region. It has great potential for ensuring and safeguarding the peace," he said.
The minister also spoke about Israel’s “regional expansionism” and criticized Tel Aviv for its moves made “under the pretext of maintaining security.”
"The biggest obstacle to peace and stability in the region is Israel's regional aggression and what transpires in Palestine.
"Statements by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) on Syria clearly indicated that Israel is not favoring peace," he said.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that southern Syria must be completely demilitarized, warning that Israel would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian government.
"We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria, including the Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda provinces," he said.
Fidan also called for a clear stand against Israel's destabilizing actions in the region.
On the transition process in post-Assad Syria, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s principles. “We expect the political transition process to be inclusive. We expect them not tolerate separatist movements,” he said, in reference to the U.S.-backed terrorist group PKK/YPG, which carved out a so-called autonomous entity in Syria’s northeast, close to the Turkish border.
He hailed Syria's National Dialogue Conference held earlier this week. "It is an essential part of Syrian people's efforts to reclaim their future," he said.
The conference had advised the new administration to outlaw any armed groups, in an apparent reference to the U.S.-backed YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group that has been a constant threat to Türkiye for decades.
