Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan believes that Russia and Ukraine are “more ready than ever“ to reach a peace agreement to resolve the conflict.
“After four years of a war of attrition, the countries are more ready than ever to make peace. They have seen the scale of human suffering and destruction and have realized the limits of their capabilities,“ Fidan said in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He also said that Russia is apparently “also ready to agree to a ceasefire and a comprehensive peace agreement under certain conditions“. “This position has been communicated to the Ukrainian side and we are participating in its implementation in some aspects“, the Turkish Foreign Minister stressed.
At the same time, Fidan believes that the discussed agreement is important not only for ending the conflict in Ukraine, “but also for creating lasting stability for the whole of Europe“. “In this context, some articles of the agreement, which is intended to guarantee the security of Europe, should be examined in more detail. I see it as a historic opportunity to prevent further attacks“, the Turkish Foreign Minister said.
On November 28, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia was negotiating only with the United States on the Ukrainian settlement.
The United States had previously proposed a 28-point plan for a Ukrainian settlement. The document has caused discontent in Kiev and its European partners, who have tried to significantly amend it. On November 23, the United States and Ukraine held consultations on the peace plan in Geneva. According to the RBC-Ukraine news agency, the delegations agreed on most of the program proposed by Washington, but several key points have been left for discussion at a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the date of which has not yet been set. Trump later announced that the number of points in the plan had been reduced from 28 to 22.
During a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, answering questions from journalists, stressed that Russia was “ready to declare“ that it did not intend to attack Europe. He said that politicians who publicly declare otherwise are “crazy“ or “crooks“ and that such claims are “complete nonsense“ and “outright lies“. Russia is ready to discuss with the West issues related to European security and strategic stability.