The Ukrainian community appreciates Turkey's political steps taken to end the war that Russia launched on Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Anadolu Agency (AA) interviewed Ukrainian civilians in downtown Kyiv to hear their perspectives on the mediation process led by Turkey for lasting peace.
"I was born and grew up in Kyiv and am really worried about the ongoing war in my country," said a young Ukrainian woman, Irina. "Many countries support us, but Turkey's support, in particular, is crucial."
She thanked Ankara for providing a safe environment ensuring the continuation of the negotiation process with Russia but noted that Ukrainians did not actually trust Russia during this process.
Artiom, another resident of Kyiv, said Ukraine was fully aware of the Turkish support and its president's warm approach towards Ukrainians and that they welcome the support of the Turkish people.
Denis Adamenko is another Ukrainian whose life was deeply affected by the war as he was displaced due to Russian attacks, but he is hopeful that a positive outcome can come out of the negotiation efforts in Istanbul.
"We feel the significant support of Turkey. People usually expect positive outcomes from negotiations. Our will is that these negotiations bring beneficial results," Adamenko said.
Noting that Russia has suffered heavy casualties amid the raging war, he said Russian forces began to withdraw from the Kyiv region. Turkey provides us with support and confidence, he added.
Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the European Union, United States and the United Kingdom, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,189 civilians have been killed and 1,901 have been injured in Ukraine, with the true figure likely to be much higher, according to the U.N.
More than 4 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
While Turkey has been one of the leading countries to conduct diplomatic initiatives to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, it hosted the foreign ministers of the two countries for the first and only high-level face-to-face meeting so far between the two warring sides since the beginning of the war. Istanbul also this week hosted face-to-face peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations as such meetings are expected to continue under Turkey's mediator role.
Meanwhile, the head of the Russian delegation at the peace talks with Ukraine said on Wednesday that some progress was made at this week's meeting in Turkey.
Speaking at a press briefing following the talks in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine for the first time formulated in a written form its readiness to meet some conditions that Russia considers necessary for the building of normal relations.
"Yesterday, for the first time in all previous years, the Kyiv authorities declared their readiness to negotiate with Russia," he said.
"They gave us the principles of a possible future agreement fixed on paper, which provides for their refusal to join NATO, fixing Ukraine's bloc-free status, and renunciation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction."
According to Medinsky, Ukraine's proposals, among other things, contain a refusal to deploy foreign military bases and military contingents on its territory, as well as an obligation to conduct military exercises only with the consent of the states that will be guarantors of its security, including Russia.
"If all these obligations are fulfilled by Kyiv, then the threat of creating a NATO foothold in Ukrainian territory will be eliminated," he said.
Medinsky said that Ukrainian negotiators presented their proposals for an agreement between the parties. He added that Moscow, after considering these initiatives, will put forth counter-proposals.
The United Nations also said Wednesday that it thanked Turkey for its efforts during talks to maintain peace between Russia and Ukraine, which have been at war for more than a month.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that the U.N. continues to push for the success of the talks that recently took place in Istanbul.
"We're also very much thankful for the efforts of Turkey in that regard and we hope that the statements and the promises that we heard turn into concrete action on the ground, which means silencing the guns," he said.
Qatar also on Wednesday hailed Turkey's efforts to mediate between warring Ukraine and Russia and voiced hope for a lasting peace agreement following this week's talks in Istanbul.
"The state of Qatar welcomes the mediation of the Republic of Turkey between Russia and Ukraine, hoping that the negotiations that began in Istanbul would achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement between two countries," the Qatari Foreign Ministry tweeted.
The ministry also called on all parties to exercise restraint and resolve disputes through communication and diplomacy, adding that international disputes should be resolved through peaceful means.
The latest round of talks hosted by Turkey lasted three hours and Russian and Ukrainian negotiators later held separate news conferences to inform the world about the outcome. While Ukraine has called for several countries, including Turkey, to be guarantors in a possible future peace deal, Russia announced it will significantly decrease military activities in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase trust for future negotiations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the meeting in Istanbul "the most meaningful progress since the start of negotiations" so far and pointed to an emerging rapprochement between the countries.
