Turkey’s top diplomat, Hakan Fidan, affirmed Ankara’s continued commitment to seeking a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
Foreign Minister Fidan issued a stark warning about the potential for the Ukraine conflict to escalate dramatically, possibly even leading to nuclear war.
This warning comes shortly after the US announced a significant new military aid package for Ukraine and amidst reports of renewed discussions within NATO about deploying Western troops. Moscow has strongly cautioned against such an escalation.
“We acknowledge the possibility of the war expanding geographically and potentially involving the use of nuclear weapons,” Fidan stated during a Tuesday address to the Turkish parliament.
He reiterated Turkey’s dedication to pursuing diplomatic avenues to achieve a peaceful settlement by 2025.
Türkiye played host to initial peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in spring 2022. According to Russia, these talks yielded agreements that were ready for signing before negotiations stalled.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, subsequently claimed that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Ukraine to continue fighting, a claim Johnson denies.
In a recent interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov restated Russia’s position on further negotiations with Kyiv.
While Russia is open to discussions based on the 2022 Istanbul agreements, Lavrov emphasized that the situation has evolved. He highlighted the need to consider new “realities on the ground,” including the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, which have been incorporated into Russia following referendums. Lavrov asserted that these territories are now permanently part of Russia under its constitution.