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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call on Thursday. Erdoğan told Macron that Türkiye has continued its efforts for a fair peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a statement by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications.
He also underlined that Türkiye was ready to host any event that would be part of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Erdoğan said Türkiye continued its efforts to end the Ukraine-Russia war with “a just peace” and closely follows the contacts in Alaska and Washington.
Erdoğan and Macron’s call comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier on the same day said similarly that Türkiye is one of the venues considered for the leaders’ talks between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last month, Türkiye was the scene of another round of talks between the warring countries as part of the Istanbul peace talks. At the last talks on May 16 and June 2, the two sides agreed to large-scale prisoner exchanges.
Ankara is keen on boosting its international profile as a key mediator and utilizes Istanbul’s symbolic location to promote diplomacy between the parties involved in conflicts and disagreements on a global level. NATO member Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis.
With its unique position of maintaining friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has garnered widespread praise for its efforts to end the war. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow, it has also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
Gaza cease-fire
In the call with Macron, Erdoğan further underlined that, “Türkiye is working to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, where a major humanitarian disaster is occurring, and emphasized that it is essential to curb the recklessness displayed by Israel, which is accelerating its plan to occupy Gaza.”
The directorate added that the two leaders agreed to discuss the details of the issues addressed on the sidelines of the U.N. summit in New York. “During the call, President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye attaches importance to developing cooperation with France and will continue to take steps to advance relations in many areas, particularly in the defense industry,” it said.
