ERDOĞAN’S REMARKS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Turkey is ready to facilitate “lasting peace” between Russia and Ukraine.
Erdoğan’s office said in a statement that the two leaders discussed Ankara’s “humanitarian and aid-related support” to Kyiv and negotiations to establish a grain corridor, allowing millions of tonnes of grain to be shipped.
President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/FIQ9V9U0yf
— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) January 5, 2023
He further told Zelensky that Turkey is willing to “provide diplomatic contributions” to resolve the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) crisis. Ukraine has accused Russia of waging “nuclear terror” after Russian forces began shelling the ZNPP in August.
CALL WITH PUTIN
In a separate call with Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan urged the Russian President to declare a “unilateral ceasefire” in Ukraine and outline a “vision for a fair solution” to the conflict. Hours later, Putin declared a 36-hour ceasefire on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. Furthermore, the Turkish leader said that Putin told him “Russia is ready to give grains to poor African countries free of charge.”
President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. pic.twitter.com/ZsSiMpsUGN
— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) January 5, 2023
“We have prevented the spread of the fire in the region with the balanced and fair policies we have been pursuing in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Erdoğan later told party members.
PUTIN’S CONDITIONS FOR PEACE
Putin told Erdoğan that Russia is ready for a “serious dialogue” with Ukraine only if Kyiv’s authorities recognise Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — a demand that Ukraine continues to reject.
Spoke with 🇹🇷 President @RTErdogan. Discussed security cooperation, in particular ZNPP, there should be no invaders there, the exchange of prisoners of war, the grain agreement development. Glad to hear that 🇹🇷 is ready to participate in the implementation of our #PeaceFormula.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 5, 2023
Putin also accused the West of playing a “destructive role [by] pumping the Kiev regime full of weapons and military equipment and also providing operational and targeting information.”
TURKEY’S ROLE IN UKRAINE WAR
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February last year, Turkey has expressed readiness to negotiate an end to the war. Ankara has hosted several rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, helped mediate a grain deal allowing millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grains to be shipped, and brokered a prisoner exchange.