Turkey could have taken the burden off the European Union in the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson said Monday and criticized the bloc for not using this opportunity.
Speaking after a party meeting led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital Ankara, Ömer Çelik said that messages given by Turkey and Erdoğan amid the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine had a great impact across the world.
"For weeks, the world has been talking about the Ukraine-centered crisis. The most important countries of the world are able to put forward an approach that can address one side of this crisis. But our president is putting out diplomacy that appeals to both sides of the crisis," he said.
"The EU cannot lead the solution of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Turkey could add a great vision to the EU, as our president said, it could have taken the burden off the EU. But they could not take advantage of it," Çelik added.
He also said Turkey's peaceful role which promotes diplomatic negotiations between the conflicting sides is very valuable.
Çelik noted that Turkey's desire to end the current tensions and prevent the emergence of new conflicts in the Black Sea region is extremely important for regional peace.
Underlining that the region is not ready for a new war, Çelik said the existing tensions could trigger other regional crises through the domino effect.
He also stressed the importance of Erdoğan's upcoming visit to Ukraine scheduled for February in reducing regional tensions.
Çelik said Erdoğan told the meeting that he will also hold official talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his visit to Kyiv.
Turkey has been closely following the developments and is in close contact with both Kyiv and Moscow. President Erdoğan said Turkey could mediate between the neighbors amid increasing tensions in the region and recently announced plans to visit Ukraine in February to help defuse tensions.
Ankara aims for peace to prevail and hopes no other adverse developments will take place in the region, Erdoğan said as Turkey has intensified its diplomatic efforts for a mediator role to de-escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine while the international community is worried about a large-scale war. Turkey has advocated that sanctions on Russia are not a solution, though the EU threatened "massive" sanctions if there is an attack.
Russia will only welcome efforts if Turkish partners encourage Ukraine to implement the Minsk Protocol, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in their initial response.
On the other hand, Ukraine has welcomed Turkey's involvement in negotiations with Russia. An escalation of the ensuing tensions between Ukraine and Russia would threaten not only Kyiv but the entire world, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar also warned recently in an exclusive interview with Daily Sabah.
Western countries fear Russia is planning a new offensive against Ukraine after it massed tens of thousands of troops near the border in recent months. Moscow denies planning an attack.
NATO member Turkey has friendly ties with both Kyiv and Moscow but opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Kyiv has also bought Turkish drones to possibly use against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, angering Moscow, and agreed with Ankara to manufacture the drones locally this year.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are open to the idea of Turkey playing a role in easing tensions between the two countries, as proposed by Ankara in November, Turkish diplomatic sources said last week.
Turkey is discussing the possibility of hosting the next meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, during which Ukraine's eastern Donbass region will be discussed.