Türkiye welcomes Trump's resolve to end Ukraine war via talks ‘in principle’: Erdoğan
ISTANBUL
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday said Ankara welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war via talks "in principle," expressing Ankara's readiness to support the path to lasting peace, including hosting negotiations.
“The approach of ending the war at the negotiation table aligns with the policy Türkiye has pursued over the past four years,” Erdoğan said after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
Türkiye wants the war, which has cost lives of hundreds of thousands of people and caused both Russia and Ukraine to pay a heavy price, to come to an end, he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also discussed Ankara’s ongoing diplomatic engagement with the Russia-Ukraine war, which marks its third anniversary on Monday, and Türkiye's efforts to contribute to the broader discussions in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Conversations with various international stakeholders, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. officials, have shaped Türkiye's perspective, he said.
He also reminded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Türkiye last week.
"We understand that a plan has been made by the relevant parties [Russia and Ukraine]. As Türkiye, we are trying to contribute to the discussion, just as we did a few years ago. Still, we are waiting, and we will see what kind of plan will emerge after all these discussions," Fidan said.
On Trump's calls for an "immediate ceasefire," Fidan emphasized the moral dimension of the conflict.
"It started as a geo-strategic issue, but now it is becoming a major moral issue," said Fidan. "In modern times, humanity allows such loss of life and destruction. Mr. Trump is right to want the war to stop, but how will we actually do that? How will we stop it? Another question people are currently working on is this."
