President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Friday that Turkey is continuing its efforts to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine dispute and that he will soon hold meetings with his counterparts on both sides of the conflict in this regard.
Erdogan said at the TRT World Forum in Istanbul, “I will hold conversations with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy on Sunday to address this problem.
In Putin’s words, “to send (grain) through this corridor to underdeveloped countries,” Erdogan stated that Turkey wants to strengthen the grain corridor agreement that it helped to hammer out this summer.
A historic deal was made on July 22 in Istanbul by Turkey, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to restore grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that had been suspended in February as a result of Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
The historic grain agreement was extended for a further 120 days, beginning on November 19, only days before it was supposed to expire.
The Turkish leader stated that even though it appears that the Istanbul process has been halted by recent events, it still represents the best platform for negotiations for a long-lasting peace.
Erdogan claimed that Turkey engaged in intense diplomacy from the beginning of the crisis, operating under the guiding principle that there cannot be a victor in a war, and that Ankara has pioneered a peace diplomacy that will serve as a model for the rest of the world.
Erdogan continued, “We resisted escalating tension in the region with illogical actions toward Russia, while vehemently protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity.