Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday that his country would be willing to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine despite selling military drones to Kyiv amid the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian military has assembled near the border with Ukraine, according to officials from the United States, NATO, and Ukraine. Ukraine is currently engaged in a conflict with Russian-backed separatists who control the country’s eastern province.
The Ukrainian military intelligence service claims that Moscow is preparing to launch an operation in the country’s eastern regions in the first half of 2022. Russia called the claims baseless and malicious U.S. propaganda.
Tayyip Erdogan told journalists on a flight from Turkmenistan to Ankara that Turkey wishes for peace around the Black Sea and that he is in constant contact with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the issue.
“Whether it is mediation or discussing with them the situation, holding these talks with Ukraine and Mr. Putin, God willing, we hope to contribute to the resolution of this problem,” he was reported as saying.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin’s spokesman, did not comment on the Turkish President’s proposal.
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