ANKARA / ISTANBUL 

Turkiye’s foreign minister expressed hope Thursday that Turkish-hosted peace talks between Ukraine and Russia might pave the way for a fresh start.

“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Hakan Fidan said in his welcoming speech at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Türkiye’s Antalya province.

“The talks ... hopefully, may open a new chapter,” Fidan said.

“Türkiye has always stressed the need for a diplomatic track to this end,” he added.

Fidan also stressed the need to establish a security network across NATO stretching from the US state of Texas to the Turkish capital Ankara.

Unity, stability

Saying that NATO is facing many crises and conflicts worldwide, Fidan said during the NATO meeting that they will discuss strengthening unity and solidarity.

Underlining that they will discuss measures to strengthen Europe’s security architecture, Fidan said: “Bringing the war in Ukraine to a just end will be an important part of our discussions.”

“Our meeting today will be an important occasion to discuss how we can individually and collectively support this process,” he said.

“Our southern neighborhood and the Balkans are also important part of NATO's 360 degrees approach to Euro-Atlantic security,” Fidan said.

“We will also reflect on what we can do as allies to deepen our partnerships, from the Middle East to Africa and Asia Pacific, to enhance stability,” he added.

Solidarity in fight against terrorism

Fidan underlined that terrorism continues to pose a grave threat to the security of all allies.

NATO foreign ministers will also discuss how best they can strengthen their solidarity against this “scourge” with concrete steps, Fidan said.

“NATO as the backbone of of Euro-Atlantic security and defense will continue to be the essential transatlantic forum to consult, coordinate, and act on all security matters among allies,” he said.

“We have no doubt that our meeting today and The Hague summit next month will reinforce this indispensable character of our alliance,” he said.

“For our part as Türkiye, in addition to today's meeting, the fact that we will also host the next summit in 2026 demonstrates our steadfast commitment to the alliance and what it stands for,” Fidan added.

In his opening speech of the event, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated the “importance” of the meeting and the need to discuss how to strengthen the alliance so that nobody dares attack it.

“We need to discuss how to make sure that NATO will be stronger. That means more defense spending. That means more defense industrial production, but also how to make sure that NATO is fair, that we equally distribute the burden amongst allies,” he said.