The key facts

  • Turkey is ready to consider various options for supporting the negotiation process on Ukraine
  • The decision on mediation rests with the parties to the conflict, the RIA Novosti source clarified
  • On September 1, Peskov said that Turkey constantly offers negotiations at various levels

Ankara ready to mediate upon request from the parties

Turkey is ready to provide mediation support in resolving the conflict in Ukraine if an appropriate request comes from its participants. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti and a source at the agency. According to the source, Ankara is ready to consider various options for supporting the negotiation process, but the decision on whether mediation is needed rests with the parties to the conflict.

Previous statements

The statement continues a series of public signals from Ankara and Moscow. On September 1, press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that Turkey constantly offers negotiations on resolving the conflict in Ukraine at various levels. After that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that he, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, expects a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. In addition, RIA Novosti, citing a source, reported that at talks with Putin Erdogan planned to express Ankara's readiness to act as a mediator in negotiations on Ukraine. Earlier, Turkey also proposed starting negotiations on Ukraine.

Context and significance

Taken together, the statements show that Turkey's mediation line has been voiced at various levels — from the Kremlin press service to the country's president — over several months, from late July to late October. At the same time, sources cite the initiative of the parties to the conflict themselves as the key condition for Ankara's involvement: Turkey positions itself as a willing but not self-imposed mediator. The practical significance for the parties to the conflict is that a mediation platform is formally available upon request, but the publications contain no information that such a request has been made or is being prepared. The information is based on the words of an anonymous source at RIA Novosti, and the cited materials contain no official confirmation from the Turkish authorities in the form of a separate statement.