President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the Russia-Ukraine war with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The president's meeting with Macron was the first of several he's scheduled to hold with other leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Both Macron and Erdoğan have been in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the invasion of Ukraine, and Turkey and France have both condemned Moscow’s decision to launch an invasion of Ukraine.
Putin explained Russia's demands for a peace deal to Erdoğan in a recent call. One of the "acceptable" demands, according to Presidential Spokesperon Ibrahim Kalın, is that Ukraine would agree to remain neutral and not apply to join NATO. The other three demands in this category are that Ukraine will have to undergo a disarmament process to ensure it isn't a threat to Russia, protection for the Russian language in Ukraine and a so-called "denazification" of the country.
Macron made headlines after attending a physically distanced meeting with Putin earlier in February, before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
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.
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 offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Having recently 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.