Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara on Monday (February 24). Lavrov’s visit came only a week after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Turkish capital.
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Monday’s meeting between the two foreign ministers focused on securing an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine as well as other topics such as the situation in Syria and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Their meeting coincided with the three year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which was precipitated by a Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Turkey offers to play mediator role
In a press conference following the meeting of the two foreign ministers, Turkish FM Fidan articulated Turkey’s readiness to play a mediator role to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine, saying:
“We are aware of the ongoing negotiations recently initiated by the US aiming to bring an end to the war. We believe that any attempt to end this conflict must be results-oriented. A solution can be reached through negotiations in which both sides participate. As we have previously done, we are ready to host such talks.”
Following a meeting between Lavrov and new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Turkey praised the efforts to end the war but disagreed with Ukraine’s exclusion from the process.
In his visit to Ankara yesterday, Lavrov repeated Russia’s demand that Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO membership be a precondition for any end to the war.
In Erdoğan’s recent meeting with Zelensky, the president reportedly conveyed Ankara’s willingness to play a mediator role.
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Turkish aspirations to become regional mediator
In recent years, Turkey has attempted to play the role of mediator, both in the Ukraine conflict and elsewhere.
Weeks before the outbreak of the war in early February 2022, Erdoğan hosted Zelensky in Ankara in which the president promised continued arms supply to Kiev.
The following month following the start of the war, Turkey hosted both Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers in Antalya for talks.
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Between July 2022 and July 2023, Turkey brokered an agreement between Russia and Ukraine allowing for the safe passage of grain shipments from southern Ukraine across the Black Sea, aimed at combating rising food prices resulting from the war.
In early January 2025, Sudan’s leader Abdulfettah al-Burhan announced his government had accepted an offer from Turkey to serve as a mediator in talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
