Turkey is ready to become a mediator in relations between Russia and Ukraine on the settlement of a potential conflict in the region. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this on November 29.
“We stand for the establishment of peace in the region, especially when it comes first of all about the Crimean Turks […] We want (this region – Ed.) Not to be a war-dominated territory. May peace reign in this territory in the future, we wish to develop an attitude towards this issue in a positive way, ”NTV quotes him.
According to Erdogan, Turkey will mediate in this matter between Moscow and Kiev, notes Gazeta.Ru.
Commenting on the words of the Turkish president, political scientist and expert on the Caucasus and the Middle East Stanislav Tarasov told Izvestia that Erdogan, with his statements about Ankara’s readiness to become a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, seeks to show his geopolitical significance.
The expert also stressed that the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov has already made a statement that this format is unacceptable for the Russian Federation, since it makes Russia a party to the conflict, which it is not.
Earlier, on November 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had transferred to Russia through Erdogan a list for the exchange of detainees. At the end of September, the Ukrainian leader turned to his Turkish colleague with a request to “put in a word” for the Ukrainians convicted in Russia in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since 2014, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’etat and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict.