Erdogan could visit Moscow after Kyiv
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he could visit Moscow soon after announcing he would be visiting Kyiv in light of soaring Russian-Ukrainian tensions.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan talk at the inauguration ceremony of gas pipeline TurkStream, Istanbul, January 8, 2020 (Source: AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could head to Russia soon, he announced Friday, just days after he had revealed his intention to visit Ukraine in early February in a bid to simmer down rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.
"I have an upcoming visit to Ukraine, and I could potentially talk with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin over the phone or visit Moscow," Erdogan told reporters.
"We could mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine," he added.
Russia had previously turned down mediation offers from Ankara over Turkey selling UAVs to Ukraine. Additionally, Turkey has long opposed recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
Turkish diplomatic source reported Thursday that negotiations over the Minsk agreements between Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe would be held in Istanbul after a hiatus.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are on a rise due to the West accusing Moscow of planning an invasion against its western neighbor, alleging that Russia has a military buildup amounting to 100,000 soldiers on the borders with Ukraine.
The Kremlin has denied these allegations and demanded a written commitment that Ukraine would never be able to join NATO and that the alliance would not place any military equipment in certain countries in the region surrounding Russia.
Moscow sees that it is best for Russian security that the alliance does not expand eastward and that Russia does not have any Western military activity in its vicinity.
NATO and the US were "reluctant" when it came to promising that Ukraine would not become party to the alliance, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
