Turkey to uphold Chinese Ukraine initiative if it promotes peace talks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Mar 2023 00:17
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The Turkish Presidential Spokesperson says the Turkish President is planning to discuss the settlement of the Ukraine conflict with his Ukrainian counterpart.

Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin (AA)

Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin indicated on Saturday that Ankara will support a negotiation process on the Ukrainian conflict settlement if Chinese initiatives lay the foundation for peace talks.

China released a 12-point document titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis" in late February emphasizing Beijing’s respect for the sovereignty of all countries, calling for the cessation of hostilities and resuming negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.

"As I understand and see, [Chinese President] Mr. Xi [Jinping] will hold negotiations with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky to discuss current issues. If it lays foundation for the talks, we will support this," Kalin told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

The top Turkish official confirmed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to discuss the settlement of the Ukraine conflict with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky after similar talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier in the day, Putin and Erdogan held phone talks and discussed, among other things, the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

In a separate context, Kalin indicated that the first quadripartite meeting between the Turkish, Syrian, Russian, and Iranian foreign ministries' delegations may take place within several weeks and is expected to be scheduled ahead of the negotiations of the countries' foreign ministers.

In mid-March, Turkish diplomatic sources revealed that a meeting that will involve Syria, Turkey, Russia, and Iran at the level of deputy foreign ministers is set to be held on March 15 and 16 in Moscow.

In December 2022, the Russian, Syrian, and Turkish defense ministers held talks in the Russian capital where they discussed means of resolving the Syrian crisis.

The Russian Defense Ministry indicated that at the conclusion of the meeting, the defense ministers highlighted how the dialogue was constructive, stressing the need for all three parties to hold further talks to bring more stability to Syria and the whole region.

Ankara expects Turkish Parliament to ratify Finland's NATO bid

Touching on Turkey's potential ratification of Finland's NATO bid, the Turkish Presidential Spokesperson said Ankara expects the Turkish Parliament to adopt the protocol on the ratification, as the country has no problems in its relations with Helsinki.

On Thursday, the Turkish parliamentary commission on foreign policy issues approved the protocol on the ratification of Finland's NATO bid and announced its plans to send it for further approval to the parliament itself.

"Our commission on foreign policy issues has adopted the protocol. We expect that the Grand National Assembly [the Turkish parliament] will also approve it. We have no problems with Finland in this process," Kalin told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

On the other hand, Kalin noted that Turkey had not made a final decision on Sweden's NATO bid, adding that everything depended on Stockholm's actions.

"We have not closed NATO's doors to Sweden. The process and the speed of the process are completely dependent on the steps Stockholm will take," he said.