Russian, Ukrainian sides need to come together, says Turkish defense minister

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides need to come together to achieve a cease-fire to end the ongoing war, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.

"It is very important for the parties to have a dialogue and come together. For this, the conditions that the parties will put forward are matters that they will decide themselves," Akar told reporters in the capital Ankara after a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

He said Türkiye's concern is to establish a cease-fire between the two neighboring countries as soon as possible and to open the way for stability and peace.

"Our President's (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) efforts have continued from the first day. An important contribution to world peace, an important value. The whole world should understand this," Akar added.

Türkiye has been internationally praised for its unique mediatory role between Russia and Ukraine. Its efforts led to the historic Black Sea grain deal, resuming food exports from Ukrainian ports that had been paused since the war began last February.

Erdogan has repeatedly stressed his wish to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Voldoymyr Zelenskyy together in Türkiye for formal discussions to end the conflict.

Akar stressed that Türkiye's efforts are important for both NATO and the EU.

"This fire must be extinguished as soon as possible. Sometimes such situations get out of control and can go in unexpected directions. In order to prevent these, our president continues his calls with good intentions, considering the regional peace in terms of humanitarian, political and international relations," he said.

- Türkiye, Russia, Syria meeting

Upon a question about whether another trilateral meeting between the defense minister of Türkiye, Russia and Syria will be held, Akar said: "It's a process. After 11 years, such a thing started with purely good intentions for the relations between the two countries (Türkiye and Syria) and for peace in the region.

Akar voiced hope that the talks will develop through mutual negotiations and later turn into a situation that will contribute to regional peace and stability.

On Dec. 28, defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia and the Syrian regime met in Moscow for talks.

At the meeting, the top defense officials agreed to continue tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region.

"Our wish is that there will be peace, tranquility and stability as a result of these meetings and that our Syrian brothers and sisters we host in our country will return to their lands voluntarily, safely and respectfully, as stated in the UN texts," Akar said.

The Turkish defense chief said Ankara will not take any action against Syrians to put them in trouble. "Therefore, they should act with this awareness and not be provoked," he urged.