Erdogan had called on his Russian counterpart for a “unilateral ceasefire” in Ukraine during the phone call. “The calls for peace and the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev must be supported by a unilateral ceasefire,” the Turkish president said.
But according to Putin, the ball is in Zelensky’s court. Ukrainian authorities must “meet the well-known demands that have been made on several occasions and take into account the new territorial realities,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Erdogan, who is also speaking today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has followed a line since the start of the conflict that allows him to maintain good relations with Putin while also supplying weapons to Kiev. NATO member Turkey is not taking part in the sanctions against Russia and is trying to maintain a mediating role between Kiev and Moscow.
For example, Ankara played a key role in last September’s prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine and in the signing of a deal, in July 2022 under the auspices of the United Nations, allowing the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus.