Ukraine calls for Turkey to be guarantor in Russia ceasefire deal

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba yesterday called on Turkey to be a “guarantor” in any future deal with Russia, along with the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members – which include Russia – and Germany.

“Ukraine made an offer on the collective security agreement: P5 [the UN Security Council’s five permanent members], Turkey and Germany,” Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told reporters in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Cavusoglu added that Russia had “no objection to this offer.” The security council’s five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that his country was “ready” to host a meeting between the latter and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara.

The call comes after Kiev and Moscow were reported to have made significant progress on an initial 15-point peace plan, including a ceasefire and Russia’s withdrawal, “if Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts restrictions on its armed forces,” according to the UK’s Financial Times.

Putin has repeatedly insisted on disarming Ukraine in exchange for stopping the war, claiming that Ukraine, with the US and Western instigation, was preparing to launch attacks on Donbass and Crimea.

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