Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday described the footage of dead Ukrainian citizens as "unacceptable" and said that the scenes from Bucha have cast a shadow on the peace process.
Addressing reporters after a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Çavuşoğlu stated that he discussed the latest developments on the ground in Ukraine and the topic of potential guarantor countries.
"The images from Bucha, Irpin and other regions are unacceptable. These scenes have overshadowed the negotiations," he said.
"The emerging positive atmosphere, unfortunately, was overshadowed."
"Our talks with both sides on evacuations from Mariupol are continuing. Most of our citizens have left the city, but we know that around 30 more citizens are still there," Çavuşoğlu also said, referring to the recent plans to evacuate citizens from the besieged port city by sea.
"We see that there is a significant difference in their stances toward Turkey," Çavuşoğlu said, referring to countries participating in the NATO meeting.
He indicated that the allies' attitude towards Turkey changed after the country stepped up its efforts to achieve peace in the Ukraine-Russia war and hosted the warring countries both in Antalya and Istanbul.
Çavuşoğlu added that he held many face-to-face meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the NATO meeting and briefed them about Turkey's diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire and peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Ankara has offered to facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia but maintains that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.
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 through them. NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has underlined its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Having called Russia’s invasion an unacceptable violation of international law, Turkey has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense and tourism ties. Erdoğan has repeatedly said Turkey will not abandon its relations with Russia or Ukraine, underlining that Ankara’s ability to speak to both sides is an asset.