FALCON POWERS – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Ankara could help end the Russia-Ukraine war, but Putin’s spokesman said Erdogan cannot play the role of a mediator in the conflict that has been ongoing for 28 months.
The Turkish Presidency quoted Erdogan as saying during his conversation with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan that he believes it is possible to reach a fair peace that suits both sides.
However, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, ruled out the Turkish leader playing such a mediating role.
The Russian news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying “No, this is not possible” in response to a question in a Russian television interview about the possibility of Erdogan playing such a role. The Russian news agency report did not mention the reason for the Kremlin’s opposition to Erdogan’s participation.
The Turkish Presidency said the two leaders also discussed the war in Gaza and ways to end the conflict in Syria.
Turkey is a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance. Unlike other alliance leaders who have imposed sanctions on Putin’s government, Erdogan has sought to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine throughout the conflict.
Turkey has played a key role in implementing an agreement that ensures the safe shipment of grains from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, and the deal has remained in effect for a year.
