Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed hope for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to continue, stressing that in his opinion both sides realize the benefits of dialogue with each other, reported “Türkiye Tudey“.
“We expect the next round of negotiations to be held, as both sides realize that sitting at the same table will benefit them“, Fidan said yesterday, emphasizing that Turkey's position on the immediate end of the conflict in Ukraine has been unchanged since its very beginning.
“This is not a war between two countries – "This is a conflict that also includes the countries that support Ukraine and Russia, which carries a risk of escalation," Fidan added.
“If they (Russia and Ukraine) meet several more times and make progress, the leadership meeting will be inevitable“, Fidan also noted, recalling that Turkish President Erdogan recently expressed his readiness to hold a meeting with Zelensky and Putin in Turkey.
Regarding the withdrawal of some US troops from Syria, Fidan said that the presence of US military personnel in Syria has never been a problem for Turkey. “For us, the main problem is the US cooperation and support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)“, Fidan added, emphasizing that Turkey wants this support to be withdrawn.
The PKK is designated as a “terrorist“ organization by Turkey, the US, the European Union and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Washington supports the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, as they led the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main ally of the US-led coalition against the “Islamic State”. Turkey considers the YPG to be an offshoot of the PKK, which has been a source of tension between the US and Turkey.
Regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip and the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers from the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is due to be held on June 20-21 in Istanbul, Fidan said that “the Palestinian issue and the crisis in the Gaza Strip will be the main topic of discussion during the upcoming meeting.” Stressing that in recent years Turkey has worked on the Palestinian issue with only a few European countries, Fidan noted that “one by one, all countries are starting to withdraw their support from Netanyahu, as no one is willing to pay the political price of supporting him.“