Erdogan Seeks to Revive Russia-Ukraine Talks
Turkey is trying to revive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and bring the leaders of the two sides to the same table, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a meeting in Ankara, the Turkish presidency said on Wednesday.
Erdogan also told the NATO chief that maintaining transatlantic ties was “essential”, while adding that Ankara expected European allies to take greater responsibility for transatlantic security.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kyiv said it had asked Turkey, a NATO member, to host a leaders’ meeting with Russia. Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ankara has maintained ties with both Ukraine and Russia.
Erdogan later told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz by phone that the US-Iran war was “beginning to weaken Europe” and that the damage from the conflict would grow unless world powers intervened with “peace-oriented approaches”.
Turkey, which borders Iran, has repeatedly called for an end to the war. Last weekend, it hosted a diplomatic forum attended by delegations from all sides and remains in close contact with the US, Iran and mediator Pakistan.