Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş addressed the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, on Wednesday on the third day of his visit to the country.

Kurtulmuş, accompanied by a group of lawmakers from Türkiye, hailed improved Turkish-Russian relations while slamming the West’s sanctions on Russia.

Türkiye and Russia maintain close ties, though Ankara also has amiable relations with Moscow’s main rival, Ukraine, amid the ongoing conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to visit Türkiye earlier this year, but his trip remains delayed. Kurtulmuş is also scheduled to meet Putin.

Kurtulmuş said Türkiye and Russia significantly enhanced their relations recently, given being two nations with two great historical legacies in the same region. "Although we have differences on our view of same matters, we are two strategic partners who greatly developed their relations," he said. Kurtulmuş linked this momentum in ties to "visionary leaders" Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Putin and their friendly relations.

"I believe our visit here will be a part of parliamentary diplomacy to further improve our relations," he said.

Speaking about the significant challenges the world is facing, Kurtulmuş stated that humanity is passing through a period of substantial transformations and systemic changes on a global scale. He underlined the necessity of producing solutions for crises through a perspective of peace, security, stability and development.

"The era we are living in is undoubtedly witnessing historic developments. Just as the fall of the Berlin Wall in the early 1990s marked the end of the bipolar world system and the Cold War that lasted from 1945 to 1990, a new era began with the United States' rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan. The defining feature of this new era is multipolarity. Türkiye believes that in the establishment of the multipolar new world order, new regional and global power equations are emerging and that new approaches based on peace and stability must be realized in these power dynamics."

Türkiye’s ties with BRICS

The parliament speaker said the upcoming BRICS summit that will be held in October was an important step in this new multipolar order. "Türkiye views BRICS as an important instrument for a new perspective of peace. In this framework, Türkiye’s membership to BRICS should be viewed as a new instrument that will enhance Ankara’s power in foreign policy. For us, it is not an alternative or something against Türkiye’s current memberships (in other international bodies)," he said.

The BRICS grouping, named after Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, includes some of the biggest emerging economies. BRICS touts itself as an alternative to what its members see as Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). New members can access financing through its development bank and broaden their political and trading relationships. Türkiye believes that joining the BRICS countries could help the country improve its economic cooperation with Russia and China and become a trade conduit between the EU and Asia. Sources said it wants to be a hub for gas exports out of Russia and Central Asia.

Straddling Europe and Asia, Türkiye applied to join BRICS some months ago amid frustration over a lack of progress in its decades-old bid to join the European Union. Yet, Türkiye still values relations with the West as Erdoğan recently pointed out that they would not turn their back on either the West or the East.

In remarks earlier this month, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara had to respond to people's needs and shape international relations based on those needs. "If our relations with the EU based on our goodwill stalls, it is quite natural to seek other economic alternatives," he said in reference to BRICS. He added that although BRICS had not fully realized its own specific structure and lacked aspects like the integration, common currency, finance models, investments and criteria of the EU, Türkiye was looking forward to "checking it out."

"We are not only close to BRICS but also ASEAN. Türkiye is already involved in other economic cooperation bodies. Due to its large economy, Türkiye needs more large-scale (international) integration," Fidan also stressed.

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Touching upon the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kurtulmuş warned that it has now become a major issue with the potential of sparking a regional and global conflict. He noted that Türkiye, since the start of the conflict, has taken action on every platform for a peaceful solution.

"The two countries almost signed a peace deal in Istanbul," he reminded a Türkiye-mediated talk between Russia and Ukraine. "But those whose interest is based on a prolonged conflict did not want this conflict to end. We hope the sides will be at the table again as soon as possible. But having a peace deal by excluding Russia is impossible," he said.

Russia said on Wednesday that a plan by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to force it to make peace was a "fatal mistake" that would have consequences for Kyiv. Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that the war between Russia and Ukraine could not be calmed by talks alone and that Moscow must be forced into peace.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "Such a position is a fatal mistake, a systemic mistake. This is a profound misconception that will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime."

Peskov said that Russia wants peace, but the issue cannot be forced, adding: "A position based on an attempt to force Russia into peace is an absolutely fatal mistake because it is impossible to force Russia into peace."

He said: "Russia is a supporter of peace, but on the condition that the foundations of its security are ensured."

Putin said in June that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its ambitions to join NATO and to hand over the entirety of four regions claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Putin must be prevented from winning the war because, if not stopped, he will threaten other neighboring states. Putin has cast the conflict as an existential struggle for Russia, while denying he has any interest in expanding the war to other countries.

Sanctions against Russia

Kurtulmuş also voiced opposition to unilateral and unfair sanctions imposed on Russia by the West. "We came here after a flight of more than four hours; whereas a direct flight from Ankara to Moscow would take about two and a half hours. In a way, we also paid a price because European airspace was closed. This is not right. History showed us that unilateral sanctions never achieved their goals. Even the sanctions are political, it is people that pay the price. Sanctions also lead people to find alternatives. We believe Russia would do so, especially in the face of sanctions in finances," he said.