Turkish foreign minister says war in Ukraine approach "turning point"

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday after meeting with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, has said that Russia’s war against Ukraine is approaching a turning point.

"We are approaching a turning point in the war. As noted at the beginning of the talks held in Istanbul on 16 May, we have two paths: either we close our eyes to the continuation of this war, or we achieve lasting peace within this year," Fidan said, as quoted by Ukrinform.

Fidan reported that the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, which took place in May, added a new dimension to diplomatic efforts.

Türkiye also considers the prisoner exchange following the Istanbul meeting a sign that negotiations can lead to concrete results.

The minister also noted that Russia announced its readiness to continue negotiations on 2 June, and now the exchange of views on the next meeting is taking place in Kyiv.

"We believe that the next round is possible on the basis of a fundamental decision taken by the parties in Istanbul. We are ready for the next meetings... We want the war between Ukraine and Russia to end fairly and finally as soon as possible," Fidan said.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that Fidan spoke in Kyiv about the results of his visit to Moscow.

On 26-27 May, Türkiye’s foreign minister visited Moscow, where he met with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and the chief Russian diplomat at the Istanbul talks, Vladimir Medinsky. Fidan also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

On Thursday 29 May, Erdoğan urged Russia and Ukraine not to close the door on dialogue ahead of a likely meeting between representatives of both countries on Monday in Istanbul.