Turkey has displayed a clear stance in the Russia-Ukraine crisis from the very beginning and has distinctly demonstrated its balanced, objective and fair approach that favors law and justice, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday.
Ahead of his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, the foreign minister said: "As a country with good relations with both sides (Russia and Ukraine), we continued our role as an honest mediator and facilitator despite all the difficulties."
During a joint press conference after the talks, Çavuşoğlu also said: "We have had a clear stance since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. We have done what we can to open room for diplomacy. We are putting efforts into achieving a humanitarian and permanent cease-fire."
"We will continue to increase our efforts prioritizing diplomacy in this process. Without the trust of Russia and Ukraine, we would not have been able to carry out these efforts adequately."
Turkey's priority is the evacuation of its nationals and civilians from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, he underlined, calling for an "urgent" humanitarian cease-fire.
The minister added that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may hold discussions with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon to talk about the issue.
Çavuşoğlu also expressed his hope that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders will meet soon and reach a permanent cease-fire to end the war and casualties.
For his part, Lavrov said that Turkey has been following a pragmatic line with a balanced approach.
"We have some differences of opinion regarding Ukraine. However, Turkey's balanced stance is very valuable to us," he said.
He also added that Moscow values Ankara's responsible approach to the implementation of the Montreux Convention.
Earlier in the day, Lavrov said that Moscow views mediation offers from Turkey and Israel to resolve the crisis in Ukraine positively.
Speaking in an interview with the Russian channel RBC TV, Lavrov mentioned his latest meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, noting throughout the entire meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, Kuleba only repeated public statements he had made before.
During the meeting – held in the presence of Çavuşoğlu – Lavrov said that despite several reminders that he wished to hear information that was not public knowledge, Kuleba "did not put forward any new ideas."
The Russian foreign minister stressed that high-level meetings are organized to address difficult issues that cannot be overcome otherwise. Lavrov also said the meetings in Belarus are currently the most effective format and that the negotiators are close to signing an agreement. He expressed hope that Kyiv will not change its position at the last moment.
Asked about the mediation efforts by some countries, the diplomat said France, Israel, Switzerland and Turkey have offered mediation.
"Proposals from those countries that do not play a Russophobic game, understand the root causes of the current crisis, understand that we are talking about the fundamental national interests – the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation – and that do not join this war, of course, we consider these proposals positively," Lavrov said.
He noted that Israel and Turkey did not join anti-Russian sanctions and thus Russia views their efforts favorably.
Çavuşoğlu is also set to hold talks in Ukraine on Thursday as Ankara facilitates cease-fire talks between the two warring sides.
Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has affected 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.
Last week, the Turkish resort city of Antalya hosted the first talks between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba since the start of Russia's invasion. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Turkey touted as a success the fact that they took place at all.
Ukraine said on Sunday it was working with Turkey and Israel as mediators to set a place and framework for talks with Russia, after Turkey hosted the foreign ministers of the warring nations for the first high-level talks last week.
