Turkey to Continue Efforts for Peace Establishment: Erdogan

The conflict in Ukraine can be halted with a robust peace foundation in place. This statement was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, as reported by RIA Novosti citing the Turkish presidential office.

The two leaders discussed the bilateral relations between Ankara and Minsk, the consequences of the Ukrainian conflict, as well as regional and global issues during their meeting. Erdogan emphasized the need for steps to halt the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, expressing his belief that the conflict could be stopped by establishing a solid peace foundation.

Erdogan stated that Turkey will continue its efforts towards establishing peace, and that sincere communications with both Russia and Ukraine will continue in this regard. On July 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana that the crisis in Ukraine arose due to the overt policies of the United States and its allies. He claimed that Russia has always been in favor of a peaceful resolution to the situation.

According to him, the plan proposed by Moscow for resolving the Ukrainian conflict would allow hostilities to cease and negotiations to begin, provided that the Ukrainian authorities and the West are willing to engage in dialogue.