From the very first days of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, immediately began to try on the role of a peacemaker and mediator between Moscow and Kyiv. It was in Istanbul that the negotiations of the two sides of the conflict were transferred after the first meetings in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. Then an agreement on Ukrainian grain was signed in Istanbul.
The success of the Istanbul agreement brought Erdogan a lot of political points on the global political stage. According to the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Turkey's president is in dire need of foreign policy success, in order to neutralize their difficult economic situation. apparently, that in the conflict in Ukraine, Erdogan aims to be peacekeepers. If the Turkish President really managed to reconcile Moscow and Kyiv, he would go down in history as a great peacemaker, at least, he thinks so.
Don't forget about that, that Turkey is the only NATO member country that did not stop contacts with Russia after the start of a special military operation. According to some reports, the volume of trade with Turkey this year increased by 46%. Erdogan has previously stated, that he values relations with Russia very much and is not going to break them. Therefore, Ankara did not join the sanctions. Now Erdogan is setting himself the ambitious task of convincing Putin of the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine..
The daily mirror, Nevertheless, doubts Erdogan's diplomatic skills. known, that the Turkish president does not know foreign languages, he is not inclined to show restraint during negotiations. for example, when he met at the June NATO summit in Madrid with the leaders of Sweden and Finland, then began negotiations with the words, that he does not want to talk with his interlocutors. AT 2021 year he threatened to expel the ambassadors from Turkey 10 Western states, whose behavior he was dissatisfied with.
Now Turkey supplies famous UAVs to Ukraine (unmanned aerial vehicles) "Bayraktar", but does not join the sanctions, foreign ships do not pass through the Bosphorus. The Russian leadership accepted this position of Turkey.
The German edition notes, that Erdogan meets with Putin quite often. Not so long ago, a meeting of the Russian and Turkish presidents took place in Tehran, and now Erdogan is already flying to Sochi. Together with him, press secretary Ibragim Kalyn will arrive in the resort capital of southern Russia, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan. They want to negotiate on the topic of events in Syria.
Turkish military operation in Syria, according to Erdogan, should be expanded. But this issue requires discussion with Russia. However, the German edition has no doubt: the focus will still not be the Syrian, and the Ukrainian conflict. Erdogan's mediation efforts are shared by another well-known politician, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.. He also welcomed the Istanbul Grain Accords and is convinced, that on their basis it is possible to build a truce of the parties.
However, unlikely, that Erdogan will be able to convince Putin to stop the special military operation in Ukraine. The President of Russia has always positioned himself as an independent politician, needing no direction from outside, what to do.
Also, in Moscow emphasize: it is useless to talk with the current authorities of Ukraine, U.S. participation as a true “decision-making center” is needed. Only an indication from Washington can force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate a ceasefire. It recognizes, by the way, and ex-Chancellor of Germany Schroeder, who also noted, that without Washington, peace talks on Ukraine will not work. Author:Ilya Polonsky Photos used:kremlin.ru
