Erdogan spokesman predicted failure of peace talks without Russia’s participation

Any peace plan for Ukraine will fail if it does not include Russia’s interests, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters on Saturday.

“The parties will eventually sit down at the negotiating table after they have suffered heavy losses, they will experience the so-called war fatigue. Therefore, we say that a solution should be developed not only between Ukraine and Russia, its leadership, but also with the participation of the United States and Europe. Any peace plan that does not include Russia will not succeed, will fail.” declared Erdogan’s representative (TASS quote).

Kalyn believes that if the conflict drags on, Europe will get tired, and its public will say that it “doesn’t want to support the Ukrainians anymore.” At the same time, the citizens of Ukraine themselves, according to the representative of Erdogan, “will say that they receive, probably, only a tenth of what they need.”

The world community has no desire to create conditions for negotiations between the two countries, Ankara believes.

“This will happen only when Russia sees that key Western countries, mainly the US, will make serious moves in the context of this major geopolitical issue. They will propose a new security architecture that will protect the West, Europe, Russia, Ukraine. Will give [России] clear guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO, and Ukraine will receive guarantees of non-aggression,” Kalyn said.

He added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace plan “contains many provisions that, with the right approach, could also be suitable for Russia.”

Kalyn earlier declared on Twitter that the situation in Ukraine could escalate in the coming months, leading to a “long-term deep crisis.” “From a ceasefire to a prisoner exchange, from grain supplies to nuclear security, Turkey will continue intensive efforts to open the way to negotiations,” he wrote.

Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Erdogan had previously held a telephone conversation during which they discussed the settlement of the situation in Ukraine. Putin confirmed Moscow’s openness to a serious dialogue, recalling that for this the Kyiv authorities must fulfill “well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements” and also take into account the new “territorial realities.”

Erdogan has previously criticized the actions of Western countries in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to him, they were of a provocative nature, the West also made no efforts to resolve the crisis.

On January 10, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara supports Zelensky’s “peace plan” consisting of 10 points. The diplomat noted Russia’s readiness for negotiations and recalled that the Ukrainian side had already proposed its own “peace formula”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the conditions of the Ukrainian authorities “unrealistic and inadequate.” The Kremlin said the Ukrainian leader’s proposal confirms Kyiv’s unwillingness to negotiate. On October 4, Zelensky signed a document refusing to negotiate with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is its president.