Our hopes for a cease-fire have increased after I visited Russia and Ukraine, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Thursday, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin may hold a face-to-face meeting.
"President Erdoğan discussed the Russia-Ukraine war with his Russian counterpart Putin today," Çavuşoğlu added, speaking at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
Çavuşoğlu also stated that Ukraine offered Turkey to be one of the guarantors regarding the security dimension of a possible deal and that Russia has no objection to it. Responding to a question by Daily Sabah in Antalya last week, Kuleba, however, said that Russia had rejected the offer to discuss the issue of Turkey taking up the role of a guarantor country for Ukraine.
"Çavuşoğlu’s commitment, courage, personal visit to Lviv prove that Turkey is an active player in peace efforts. Ukraine, its people appreciate the principled position that Turkey has adopted since the start of the war," Kuleba said for his part.
Saying that Turkey and Ukraine will focus on setting up a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, Kuleba underlined that Kyiv is ready to continue diplomatic efforts to stop Russian aggression.
As a result of Turkey’s intense diplomatic efforts, Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for the first time since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine ahead of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Mediterranean resort on March 10. After talks with Lavrov in Antalya, Kuleba said there had been "no progress," even on a 24-hour cease-fire, although the Russian foreign minister said Moscow would remain open to dialogue.
Ankara said arranging the meeting between the two officials was in itself a diplomatic victory.
NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, has good relations with both countries.
It has called Russia’s invasion unacceptable and has ramped up efforts to undertake a facilitator role to find a solution to the conflict.
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 them.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, NATO member Turkey controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles, linking the Mediterranean and Black seas. The pact gives Ankara the power to regulate the transit of naval warships and close the straits to foreign warships during wartime and when it is threatened.
Turkey in late February called Russia’s invasion a "war," allowing it to invoke articles under the pact that could limit the passage of some Russian vessels from its straits.