President of Turkey Recep Erdogan
Photo: Anadolu
Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin stated that the demands of Vladimir Putin to recognize the "independence" of certain territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the annexation of Crimea are not realistic, reports CNN.
"These are the red lines for the Ukrainians in the Crimea and Donbas, and rightly so, because they pertain directly to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. We have not recognized the annexation of Crimea, along with the rest of the world, even China did not recognize the annexation of Crimea. They (the russians - LB.ua) must really come up with something else," he said.
According to Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish President relayed a message to Moscow, urging the negotiating teams to agree and move on to the in-person meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
"President Zelenskyy is ready to meet President Putin, it's Putin who has said no so far. And our president has said, I'm ready to facilitate bringing the two of you together, in Turkey or somewhere else… We believe that it's only through that meeting, that this war will come to an end," he added. "Without a doubt, President Putin will listen to President Erdogan, his advice, and his ideas and proposals. You can understand from their point of view that they don't trust most of the NATO countries, they don't want to talk to them anymore, right or wrong. But the reality is that someone has to talk to the Russian side, someone whom the Russians can also trust. Otherwise, this war can go on for months, for years."
The Turkish President served as an intermediary in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs helped organize the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Russia. On March 29, a new round of negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow will occur in Istanbul.
According to The Financial Times, Russia is no longer demanding the "denazification," "demilitarization," or special status for the russian language.