Lavrov visits Turkey as Erdogan pushes for Ukraine peace talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will head to Turkey on Friday, which has sought to revive Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations and find ways to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.

Lavrov will attend part of the annual diplomatic forum on the Mediterranean Sea in Antalya, where he will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The Russian-Ukrainian war will be a major topic of discussion at the forum, which runs from Friday to Sunday, even though the Russian Foreign Minister will leave again on Saturday.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ankara has maintained close relations with both sides.

Sinan Ulgen, director of the EDAM Research Center in Istanbul, said, "Turkey, along with Hungary, remains among the last NATO countries to establish a dialogue with Moscow."

He added, "In a geopolitical context changed by war, Turkey is keen to preserve this role for the future in the hope of benefiting from it during possible peace talks."

Erdogan stated on Wednesday that Turkey seeks to revive peace efforts made in 2022 when senior negotiators from the two countries met in Istanbul.


AFP