Russia and Ukraine have made progress in negotiations to halt the invasion and the two warring sides are close to reaching an agreement, Turkey said Sunday amid its diplomatic push for permanent peace in the region.
"Of course, it is not an easy thing to come to terms with while the war is going on, while civilians are killed," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in live comments from the southern Turkish province of Antalya at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) meeting, adding, however, that momentum appears to be building.
"We see that the parties are close to an agreement."
"We can say we are hopeful for a cease-fire if the sides do not take a step back from the current positions," he said, without elaborating more.
Çavuşoğlu last week visited Russia and Ukraine as Turkey, which has strong bonds with the two sides, has tried to position itself as a mediator.
There had been a "rapprochement in the positions of both sides on important subjects, critical subjects," he underlined.
Ankara hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month.
Foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met for talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, which Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara considers the fact that they took place at all a success.
Çavuşoğlu said Turkey was in contact with the negotiating teams from the two countries but he refused to divulge the details of the talks as "we (Turkey) play an honest mediator and facilitator role."
The top diplomat also said in a tweet on Monday that he discussed regional developments in Ukraine with the Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.
Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın also said over the weekend that the sides were negotiating six points: Ukraine's neutrality, disarmament and security guarantees, the so-called "denazification," removing obstacles on the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, the status of the breakaway Donbass region and the status of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
He said the two sides were getting closer to agreeing on four key issues, namely, Russia's demand that Ukraine renounces its ambitions to join NATO, demilitarization, what Russia has referred to as "denazification" and the protection of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West have dismissed Russian references to "neo-Nazis" in Ukraine's democratically elected leadership as baseless propaganda, references that Kalın described as offensive to Kyiv.
Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in talks last week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine's security while keeping it outside NATO, though each side accused the other of dragging matters out.
Kalın said a permanent cease-fire could come only through a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, he said Putin felt that their positions on the "strategic issues" of Crimea and Donbass were not close enough to warrant a meeting.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 while part of the eastern industrial Donbass region was seized by Russian-backed separatist forces that year.
NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good relations with both and has offered to mediate between them. It has voiced support for Ukraine but has also opposed far-reaching Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the invasion.
While forging close ties with Russia on energy, defense and trade and relying heavily on Russian tourists, Turkey has sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow. Turkey also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
President Recep Tayyip 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.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for peace, urging Russia to accept "meaningful" talks for an end to the invasion.
"This is the time to meet, to talk, time for renewing territorial integrity and fairness for Ukraine," he said, in a video posted on social media on Saturday.
Turkey said it was ready to host a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin.
"We are working day and night for peace," Çavuşoğlu said on Sunday.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Putin has called Russia's actions a "special operation" meant to demilitarize Ukraine and purge it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an aggressive war by choice.
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. Turkey says it can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but says that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.
Recently, Ukraine said it was working with Turkey and Israel as mediators to set a place and framework for talks with Russia. Lavrov also said that Moscow views mediation offers from Turkey and Israel to resolve the crisis in Ukraine positively.
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 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 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.