Turkey hopes talks for a ceasefire in Ukraine will start soon, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday, at the end of a diplomatic forum in the southern city of Antalya.
Hakan Fidan
Turkey hopes talks for a ceasefire in Ukraine will start soon, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday, at the end of a diplomatic forum in the southern city of Antalya.
Fidan met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Friday on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. He told reporters he had discussed a number of issues with Lavrov, including Ukraine.
"On the issue of Ukraine, our view is that both sides have reached the limits of what they can get by war. We think that it is time to start a dialogue for a ceasefire," Fidan said.
"That doesn't mean recognising the occupation (by Russia), but issues of sovereignty and ceasefire should be discussed separately."
NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has sought to maintain good ties with both nations since Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Ankara has provided military support for Ukraine and voiced support for its territorial integrity, but also opposes sanctions on Russia.
"The death and injury of more than 500,000 people and the complete destruction of the infrastructure and superstructure of an entire country is not a reality that is bearable for us," Fidan said.
"This has to stop somehow. To stop this, there should be some discussions and everybody should get used to this idea."
By Tuvan Gumrukcu
Turkish authorities detained 109 people, including opposition party members and a former mayor, on Tuesday in Izmir, the Anadolu state news agency said, expanding a months-long legal crackdown on the opposition that had been focused on Istanbul.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) could start handing over its weapons "within days", a spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Tuesday, the clearest sign yet that efforts to secure the outlawed group's disarmament may be nearing a breakthrough.
Turkish authorities on Monday detained three cartoonists over a satirical drawing published by weekly magazine Leman that seemed to depict Prophets Moses and Muhammad shaking hands in the sky, while missiles flew below in a scene resembling war.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.