 "Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets US President Donald Trump during the Nato summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)")
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that US President Donald Trump is open to joining Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul.
Turkey has hosted two rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks in Istanbul. The last round of talks was held on June 2, a day after Ukraine carried out a drone attack inside Russia and destroyed nearly a third of the country’s long-range bomber and surveillance fleets.
Erdogan has said that Trump would be open to join talks in Istanbul if Russian leader Vladimir Putin would be in attendance.
“He (Trump) said, ‘if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also come. We will hold the necessary contacts and God willing realise this meeting as soon as possible,” said Erdogan, referring to his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the Nato Summit.
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While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Putin’s attendance for leader-level talks, the Russian leader has rejected such demands.
Erdogan eyes ‘window of opportunity’ despite challenges
Even as the Israel-Iran conflict has distracted the United States and Europe, Erdogan is hopeful that Trump could be convinced to join Ukraine-Russia talks.
Turkey is using its mediation between Ukraine and Russia as a way to raise its profile on the international stage. Erdogan has long had close ties with Trump and has been acting as a go-between in the Ukraine war since 2022.
Erdogan said that there currently exists a “window of opportunity” that should not be missed.
“I believe a window of opportunity has opened for a ceasefire and lasting peace. We cannot afford to miss it. We are working to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace process by supporting additional concrete steps between the parties,” said Erdogan.
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Despite Erdogan’s hopeful remarks, expectations of any immediate breakthrough are not high as Russia has rejected all US-backed ceasefire proposals so far that Ukraine has accepted. Russia has also ramped up the conflict in recent weeks with near-daily attacks with hundreds of missiles and drones.
Even though Trump has expressed frustration with Putin in recent months, he has not taken any decision to pressure him. He has neither granted new weapons to Ukraine nor ramped up sanctions on Russia. Instead, he has repeatedly trashed Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and granted every wish to Putin and parroted his talking points justifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022 that began the ongoing war.