As Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Russia to meet with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, a top advisor to the Turkish president stated on Friday that the international community cannot settle the war in Ukraine by ignoring Moscow.
Less than three weeks have passed since their last meeting in Tehran. Turkey facilitated a deal to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports that had been halted by Russia’s invasion.
Fahrettin Altun, the director of the Turkish presidential communications office, praised the direct diplomacy between the two leaders and said the agreement was proof of the success of Turkey’s efforts as a NATO member.
‘It’s a fact that not all of our friends want the conflict to end. They are weeping like crocodiles,’ without naming any specific individuals, Altun told Reuters that some were actively attempting to undermine Turkey’s efforts.
‘By ignoring Russia, the international community cannot put an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,’ he stated.
Prior to a meeting between the delegations of the two nations on Friday afternoon, Erdogan was supposed to meet Putin.
Both Ukraine and Russia enjoy fair-to-good ties with Turkey. But while it has opposed the invasion and provided Ukraine with armaments, it has broken with Western allies by not putting penalties on Russia
In order to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties, Altun stated that ‘we are looking to harness Turkey’s relationships with Russia and Ukraine.’
Despite close energy supply cooperation with Russia, there has also been military rivalry between the two countries in Syria, Libya, and Azerbaijan.
Erdogan and Putin’s meetings on Friday were also anticipated to cover Turkey’s threat to begin new military operations in Syria in order to increase the depth of its border’s ‘safe zones’ by 30 kilometres (20 miles).
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