Turkey FM: ‘A lasting ceasefire should be implemented in Ukraine war’

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the war in Ukraine must stop with a lasting ceasefire at the meeting with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

“As a country with good relations with both sides (Russia and Ukraine), we continued our role as an honest mediator and facilitator, despite all the difficulties,” he said.

By stating Turkey’s priority is the evacuation of its nationals and civilians from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, he underlined the necessity for an “urgent” humanitarian cease-fire.

Lavrov also expressed his positive remarks on Turkey’s mediation role and the trade partnership between Turkey and Russia.

“The gas pipeline Turk Stream commissioned in 2020 between Russia and Turkey is not only crucial for Turkey, but also for Russia and the region,” he stated.

Turkey has developed strong ties with Russia over the last five years, and even purchased S-400 air defence missiles from Moscow.

Turkey’s annual foreign trade volume with Russia is US $34.7 billion, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

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