nkara supports the idea of immediately halting air and maritime attacks as confidence-building measures between Ukraine and Russia and concrete steps toward a cease-fire, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
"Our efforts to reach an agreement that will guarantee the safety of navigation in the Black Sea align with this approach," Erdogan told an online meeting organized by the EU, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.
His statement came shortly after the Ukrainian president repeated his demand for "silence in the skies ... and also silence at sea," on X following a "massive" Russian attack on the country's energy grid overnight.
And on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said London and Paris were proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure."
Türkiye, which has twice hosted Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of the war, also argues both sides must be seated at the table for any peace negotiations to work. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on the same day that a draft peace deal discussed between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022 could be the starting point for a settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
"Today, we draw attention to the importance of a solid diplomatic ground where both warring parties will be at the table for a just, lasting and honorable peace," he said.
NATO member Türkiye has sought to maintain good relations with its warring Black Sea neighbors, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pitching himself as a key go-between and possible peacemaker between the two warring countries.
Ankara has provided drones for Ukraine but shied away from Western-led sanctions on Moscow. It has brokered a grain deal under the shadow of conflict and prisoner exchanges between the sides.
"It is important for Türkiye to be included in mechanisms such as the European Peace Facility, which aims for reconstruction and revitalization of Ukraine,” Erdogan said further. Türkiye believes that planning all steps on European security together with Ankara would be “in our mutual interest,” he added.
“We believe there is no explanation for our exclusion from the EU's defense product procurement and reconstruction programs, given the support of our defense industry to Ukraine and the contributions of our private sector, which did not leave the country despite the war conditions."
He reiterated that European security does not only concern members of the EU.
“With all these efforts, it is without doubt essential to get the strong support of our ally the U.S. and protect trans-Atlantic ties at a maximum,” he continued.
