Russia should give a real chance to negotiations that would lead to positive results on the ground, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said Saturday.
Kalın told reporters after an event in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul that clashes on the ground should not continue to cause further destruction amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.
"Further destruction should not continue and there is a need for a concrete result at the negotiating table, which will affect the realities on the ground in a more positive way," he said.
"The message they wanted to give was given," said Kalın, noting that the Russian side should allow a real chance for negotiations.
Touching on Turkey's diplomatic efforts to end the war, Kalın cited the intense contacts of the country's Foreign Ministry, related Turkish officials and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's phone conversations.
"On Sunday he (Erdoğan) will have a phone call with his Russian counterpart (President) Vladimir Putin and we will continue to give our messages," he added.
Erdoğan will tell Putin on Sunday to stop the invasion of Ukraine, Kalın said, while adding that it was naive to expect talks between Moscow and Kyiv to yield results while the fighting rages on.
Kalın said Erdoğan would reiterate that offer to Putin in a phone call on Sunday and that he would ask Putin to "give a chance" to a cease-fire, stop his attacks and help set up corridors needed for evacuations of civilians and shipments of aid.
"We are focusing on what steps we can take here to bring the sides to the negotiating table and to convince the Russian side (to stop)," Kalın said, adding it was important that Moscow had a reliable counterpart to talk to as the West had "burned its bridges" with Russia.
"This network of trust (with Russia) must absolutely be kept open for these talks, diplomacy to succeed," he said. "Otherwise it will be impossible for the whole region, including Russia and Ukraine, to escape from this destruction," he added.
Kalın also reiterated Ankara's criticism of the sanctions that many countries have imposed on Russia since the invasion, saying the measures should be aimed at stopping the war.
"We have no plans for sanctions right now ... We do not want to be pushed into a position where we become a party in the war. We need to be able to speak with both sides," he cautioned.
Kalın repeated that Turkey could not abandon ties with either Kyiv or Moscow. He said Ankara was in contact with both the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams.
"We have good relations at the same time with Ukraine and Russia. We can't give up on either," he said.
"While these intense attacks continue on Ukrainian cities, it would be naive to expect a concrete, binding result that will positively impact the situation on the ground," Kalın said.
His invitation was welcomed by Russia's Ambassador at the United Nations in Geneva Gennady Gatilov, who described a possible meeting of the two ministers as a "good idea."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed he would attend the forum, Çavuşoğlu said.
"We think that these meetings will have a positive impact. In particular, a meeting at the leaders' level could prevent the war from causing greater destruction," Kalın said.
Kalın described Russia's conditions for the conflict's end as "unrealistic" but said "negotiations and diplomacy exist for that" reason.
Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging restraint for all sides. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions aiming to isolate Moscow, it also closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles under a 1936 pact, allowing it to curb some Russian vessels from crossing the Turkish Straits.
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 offered to host peace talks, also underlining its support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While recently calling 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.
Ankara has said it wants to bring together foreign ministers from Ukraine and Russia for talks at the diplomacy forum next week in southern Turkey's resort city of Antalya. Both Ukraine and Russia have voiced openness to such talks.
