MOSCOW (TASS): Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the bloodshed in Ukraine must be stopped, the humanitarian situation in this country is deteriorating.
“Turkey has maintained a clear position since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine. We have always honestly and sincerely shared our concerns and criticism, called for common sense and dialogue, and drew attention to the need to reduce tensions and create a field for diplomacy. We have invested in securing a ceasefire from the very beginning “, – he said at a press conference on Wednesday following the results of negotiations in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
“However, unfortunately, from February 24 to the present day, the devastation and humanitarian drama [in Ukraine] continue to grow. Thousands of civilians died and more than 3 million people left their country,” Cavusoglu said.
“All this must be put to an end. It is necessary that the bloodshed [stop] and the tears stop flowing. We have always affirmed and will continue to affirm that there are no winners in wars,” the Turkish Foreign Minister added.
The Turkish minister noted that despite the complexity of the situation, Ankara continues to believe in diplomacy. According to him, Turkey supports the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Belarus and wants them to bring results.
The Turkish Foreign Minister also thanked Russia for its assistance in the evacuation of Turkish citizens from Ukraine. “As you know, the Turkish state carried out a very serious evacuation operation, we evacuated some of these people through Russia. And I want to thank the Russian Federation for the assistance and support in the evacuation,” he said.
According to him, the ministers of foreign affairs and defense “continue contacts” on this issue. “At the moment, those citizens who are in Mariupol, they must be evacuated. We have already considered this issue, and we talked on the phone before. We additionally contacted the military on this issue. Dear Sergey Lavrov, he has a great contribution in this matter. urgent provision of a ceasefire in order to eliminate this humanitarian problem,” Cavusoglu added.
Turkish minister said that the parties discussed all these issues at the talks in a very confidential atmosphere and “made certain decisions.”
Erdogan says he will attend upcoming NATO summit: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he would attend a NATO leaders’ summit on the situation in Ukraine, to be held on March 24 in Brussels.
“On March 24, the NATO summit will be held again, at which we will have the opportunity to continue negotiations from where we left off. Because events continue to develop between Russia and Ukra-ine,” the Turkish president said after talks with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Ankara.
