Erdogan hopes for Ukraine, Russia to negotiate peace

This was stated by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was answering a question of an Ukrinform correspondent.

"With the progress, with the progress we have made, a great result will appear very soon," Erdogan is convinced.

According to him, Turkey is the only country that talks to both warring parties. "I can speak absolutely calmly with both countries, with both leaders, we are having discussions with President Zelensky and President Putin," Erdogan said, adding that he would be calling Putin again on Friday.

The president of Turkey noted that thanks to such communication with both parties, in particular, more than 6 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain was exported via the Black Sea.

Erdogan also emphasized the role of his country in the release of more than 200 fighters of the Azov Regiment, five of whom, the commanders, are currently staying in Turkey and recently reunited with their families. Prisoner swaps were a very important topic, as was the issue of grain exports, but also fertilizers, the leader added. "No other state in the world has done what we have done in this sense," he emphasized.

Ukrinform's question was about whether the Turkish leader does not consider the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine to be a prerequisite for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. The correspondent did not receive a direct answer to this. Instead, Erdogan said he is convinced that it will come to negotiations between the two leaders.

"There will be no losers in a just peace... A bad peace is better than war," Erdogan said. At the same time, he reprimanded some European leaders who are allegedly "escalating the situation."

As reported, the president of Turkey took part in the first summit of the European Political Community, which was held in Prague on October 6.

Photo: Olga Tanasiychuk, Ukrinform