FM attends Balkan summit in Croatia

DUBROVNIK

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik on Oct. 9 for the third meeting of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit.

The summit, which first convened in Athens in August last year and continued in Tirana in February, gathers leaders from Ukraine and neighboring countries to address security and economic issues.

This year’s meeting included heads of state and foreign ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Greece, with expected representation from the European Commission.

In his address at the summit, Fidan was set to emphasize Türkiye's commitment to supporting efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine and to promote a lasting solution grounded in international law.

He also planned to engage in discussions about the situation in Ukraine and broader regional developments.

Fidan's participation follows his attendance at a peace summit in Switzerland on June 15-16.

Since the war began, Türkiye has pursued multilateral initiatives and maintained communication with both Russia and Ukraine. Notably, it facilitated the export of around 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain under a key deal and acted as a mediator in the exchange of prisoners.