UN commends Turkey for hosting Ukraine-Russia peace talks
A video of the devastation of Ukraine is watched by the United Nations Security Council during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine amid the Russian military invasion, at the United Nations headquarters, in New York, New York, USA, 05 April 2022. EPA/PETER FOLEY


"We commend the government of Turkey for hosting these discussions, as well as the efforts of many others engaging with Russia and Ukraine to help bring about peace," the United Nations official said Tuesday praising Turkey for hosting diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives continued.

"We welcome the willingness of the sides to continue engaging to reach a mutual understanding. This requires good faith and earnest efforts, and progress in the negotiations should be translated quickly into action on the ground."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with Turkey that it will take out the wounded and the dead via ship to transport them to Berdiansk, a coastal city some 69 kilometers (43.3 miles) from the besieged city of Mariupol.

"We are waiting for approval from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. This moment depends on him," he told Ukrainian journalists.

He added that all the infrastructure is ready to remove the wounded and dead from Mariupol.

Earlier, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey could provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded from Mariupol.

Turkey’s delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.

Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his offer to host Zelenskyy and Putin for talks to secure peace between Ukraine and Russia. Erdoğan voiced hope that a possible summit between the two leaders in Istanbul could bring an end to the war. He added that Putin and Zelenskyy need to take steps regarding Donbass and Crimea.

Conditions regarding these two regions are still obstacles between the two warring sides' negotiations, while Ukraine perceives Russian demands on the two regions as violations of its own territorial integrity.

In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29 as the war entered its second month with casualties piling up on both sides.

During the talks, Ukrainian officials signaled readiness to negotiate a "neutral status," a key Russian demand, but demanded security guarantees for their country.

Russia, meanwhile, pledged to significantly decrease its military activities toward the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to build up trust for future negotiations.

Ukraine wants to see countries, including Turkey, as guarantors in a deal with Russia, a Ukrainian negotiator said after the talks.

Turkey also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya last month. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met for talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, which top Turkish diplomat Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara hails it as a success for the fact that they took place at all.