Renew dialog: Turkey ready to become a platform for talks on Ukraine

Russia will stop hostilities in Ukraine only if it is able to reach agreements that suit both sides. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on 24 February. Turkey is ready to provide a platform for future Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. At the same time, Ankara highly appreciates the US attempts to achieve a settlement of the conflict. Moscow intends to continue contacts with Washington, the talks in Riyadh, which took place on February 18, gave hope for a normal dialog with the American side, Sergey Lavrov stressed. Ankara also discussed the situation in Syria, where two Russian bases remain.

Lavrov and Fidan discussed the settlement of the situation in Syria

The head of Russian diplomacy flew to the Turkish capital late in the evening of February 23, Ankara met the delegation with snow and cold weather. Not even a week has passed since the last conversation between the ministers. Sergey Lavrov and Hakan Fidan communicated in the presence of delegations on February 20 at the G20 in South Africa. Lavrov also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but these talks were held in a format closed to the press.

Increasing trade volume, interaction in energy, cooperation in the banking sector and tourism development were the focus of Sergey Lavrov's talks with Hakan Fidan on February 24. According to the Russian minister, the sides discussed the security of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines amid continuous provocations by Ukraine. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, any destabilization here is fraught not only with the weakening of the Turkish oil and gas industry, but can also lead to an increase in inflation in the country. In addition, following the meeting, Sergei Lavrov said that all four power units of the Russian-Turkish nuclear power plant "Akkuyu" are being built simultaneously and in round-the-clock mode.

One of the key topics of the talks was the discussion of the situation in Syria, where a new government is to start work from March 1 after the change of power. "Expressed satisfaction with the achieved level of interaction between our countries on the Syrian issue. We confirmed mutual interest in giving momentum to the joint work to resolve the situation in this country," Sergey Lavrov said after the talks.

According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ankara attaches great importance to the territorial integrity of Syria and opposes the existence of terrorist organizations within its borders. At the same time, the Turkish leadership considers the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces affiliated with it as the main threat. According to Hakan Fidan, Turkey will always be close to Damascus to maintain stability in the neighboring country. After the departure of Bashar al-Assad from power, Turkey has close ties with the new leadership of Syria, so negotiations with Ankara are also important in terms of the future of Russian military bases in Tartus and Hmeimim.

According to Igor Matveev, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the military bases will most likely be retained by Russia, but the terms of their use will probably have to be adjusted.

- Various options for Russia to retain its bases may be discussed. The options may concern the terms of deployment of the Russian military, their status. All this is not a topic for public discussion. Despite the fact that Russia supported the Assad regime, we fought not against the opposition, but against terrorism. Our military police made a serious contribution to the safe distribution of humanitarian aid throughout Syria," the expert emphasizes.

Turkey is ready to hold Russian-Ukrainian negotiations

Against the background of the Russian-American dialog that began in Saudi Arabia, the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is also on the agenda. In this regard, Ankara offers its mediation services and declares the possibility of holding future negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations on Turkish soil. Earlier, the Turkish president said. "As a country that has been able to sit the warring parties at the negotiating table several times, it can contribute to peace talks, including holding them", - said in a message following the talks.

Several rounds of talks between Moscow and Kiev have been held in Istanbul since the start of the special operation in Ukraine in 2022. In addition, it was through the mediation of Ankara that they managed to conclude the so-called "grain deal" in 2022.

According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ankara attaches great importance to the U.S. initiative to end the conflict. He also noted the importance of participation of both sides in future negotiations. According to him, Turkey is ready to provide any support for them to take place. Sergey Lavrov also assessed the current position of the United States.

- Respect for all these realities (including on the ground. - Ed.) is, of course, mandatory. Just as Ukraine's categorical non-admission to NATO is mandatory. There must be a clear and ironclad agreement on this. At the meeting in Riyadh with their American counterparts, they welcomed the fact that President Trump has publicly and repeatedly called the line on dragging Ukraine into NATO a mistake, saying that if he had been president in the coming years, he would never have allowed such a line to prevail, and thus no crisis would have taken place," Lavrov noted.

The head of Russian diplomacy also noted that a condition for Russia to end hostilities would be to reach positions that would suit both sides. In addition, the Istanbul agreements, according to Lavrov, could become the basis for a new peace agreement.

- The President has clearly said that we are ready to negotiate with Ukraine, with Europe, with any representatives who would like to help achieve peace in a spirit of goodwill, but we will stop hostilities only when these negotiations yield a firm, sustainable result that suits the Russian Federation," Lavrov said.

The Russian delegation informed the Turkish side about the Russian-American negotiations that took place on February 18 in Riyadh. According to Sergey Lavrov, there is now hope for a normal dialog, despite the numerous contradictions that, of course, persist.

Turkey could be a good platform for peace talks on the Ukrainian issue because, as a NATO country and part of the West, it has maintained a working relationship with Moscow, unlike many other countries, Turkey expert Yashar Niyazbayev said.

- Comparing it to Saudi Arabia, Turkey has a historical record of mediation: talks in Istanbul in 2022 went further than all subsequent attempts. However, it was Ukraine that eventually withdrew its consent, making the Istanbul 1 format historically disadvantageous for itself. If the talks return to Turkey, it will be symbolically beneficial to Moscow, as it will emphasize that the conflict could have ended several years ago, but the chance was lost then," Niyazbayev said.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, which positions itself as a neutral player and seeks to strengthen its diplomatic role on the world stage, Ankara is traditionally more involved in the region and has more influence on both sides, the expert summarized.