Türkiye proposes “peace platform” to end war in Ukraine

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan proposed on July 6 the establishment of a “peace platform” to end the war in Ukraine.

Fidan said current efforts to end the war “should be broadened,” Turkish newspaper Haber7 reported.

“A peace platform must be created that prevents deepening polarization, ensures high participation and representation and gives priority to diplomacy,” he said.

Fidan did not provide any further details.

Turkey has long tried to take a leading role in the peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin that Turkey could act as a mediator in ending the war.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected this idea, saying that Erdogan could not act as a mediator, but did not give any specific reasons.

Although Turkey is a NATO member, Erdogan is keen to maintain positive relations with both Russia and Ukraine, having previously signed a one-year deal for secure grain deliveries from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Ukraine has repeatedly stated that peace talks should be based on its ten-stage peace formula, which calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. However, Moscow has rejected this proposal.

Kiev is preparing for the second peace summit and wants to draw up a detailed action plan that includes steps related to “all crises” caused by Russia’s all-out war, Zelensky said.

Putin claims the draft Istanbul peace plan is still “on the table” for talks between Russia and Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on July 4 that the alleged peace plan drawn up during negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul in 2022 could be the basis for a “settlement” of a full-scale Russian war, the Kremlin-controlled TASS news agency wrote.