Turkey sees it as a responsibility to end the suffering of Ukrainian civilians and has been striving to establish diplomatic contacts in this regard, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday, adding that "fascist practices" against Russians cast a shadow over Ukraine's legitimate struggle.
Addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) meeting in Parliament in the capital Ankara, he underlined that Turkey rejects moves resembling a "witch-hunt" against Russian people, literature, students and artists.
"Fascist practices" against Russians cast a shadow over Ukraine’s "legitimate struggle," he said.
"A mindset discriminating against oppressed people on the basis of religion, origin or skin color has nothing to do with humanity or civilization," he added.
Erdoğan said that Turkey never discriminated against those fleeing war and persecution on the basis of their language, religion or color of their skin.
Saying that Turkey pursues a policy that defends the preservation of countries’ territorial integrities as well as sovereignties, Erdoğan added: "We are deeply saddened by the fact that the tension between Ukraine and Russia, both of which are our neighbors through the Black Sea, has turned into a hot conflict. We exerted much effort in order for the crisis not to turn into a tragedy and continue to do so."
He added that in his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin he underlined the need for the solution of problems through dialogue and diplomacy instead of hard power. "We openly voiced that our region, which is struggling with instability, cannot stand new crises, especially a war that will have heavy costs," Erdoğan said.
He also slammed international organizations for falling short of taking action over war zones, especially the United Nations Security Council.
Erdoğan also expressed hope that the first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Turkey on Thursday will lead to a permanent cease-fire.
"I hope that the meeting in which the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia will come together for the first time will open the door for a permanent cease-fire. We also welcome the cease-fire announced for the evacuation of civilians ahead of this critical meeting our country will host," the president said.
"While taking all steps on the diplomatic arena, we also do not ignore the problems that the crisis has caused in terms of our citizens and the people of Ukraine. So far, we have ensured the passage from our borders or evacuation of 13,000 of our citizens. Furthermore, we also helped in the evacuation of the Crimean Tatars, Ahiska Turks, our Azerbaijani, Uzbek and Turkmen brothers as well as other countries’ citizens," Erdoğan said.
He said that within this scope, the number of foreigners entering Turkey reached 20,000.
All eyes are on the high-level tripartite meeting between Turkey, Russia and Ukraine that will take place on Thursday in the southern province of Antalya as part of Turkey's efforts to mediate between the warring countries.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Monday, saying, "We will hold this meeting in a tripartite format in Antalya on Thursday, March 10."
Çavuşoğlu will attend the meeting since both leaders have requested his presence, the minister said, adding that it will bring high-level Russian and Ukrainian officials together for the first time since the war began on Feb. 24.
The three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Turkish resort city of the same name is set to start Friday, and the Russian-Ukrainian meeting the day prior.
Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
At least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the United Nations, which noted that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.
Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the U.N. refugee agency.
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.
