ISTANBUL
Türkiye will play an "important" role in both attaining and continuing peace, and maintaining a possible ceasefire, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday of its efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
"Türkiye has a great potential in this direction," Fidan told a joint news conference with his Georgian counterpart Maka Botchorishvili in the capital Ankara, adding that Türkiye is a "strong and important" actor in the region.
Ankara's position since the beginning of the war has been to put an end to it as soon as possible, Fidan highlighted.
There have been initiatives, work, and contacts at both the strategic and tactical levels on this issue, but no progress between the parties has been made so far, he said, but added that a new dynamic started with the new US administration under President Donald Trump.
Fidan added that intensive diplomatic contacts are being carried out on details such as the conditions and how to continue a possible ceasefire agreement, turning it into a peace agreement, and possible conditions of this ceasefire as well as security guarantees to ensure it continues.
Highlighting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's contacts with other leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Fidan said that there are contacts between various parties to ensure and maintain a ceasefire.
Fidan said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg, and Ukrainian and European representatives were contacted and said that everyone agrees on the need for a ceasefire.
"It is important that this is accepted by the parties," he added.
Ankara has been supporting initiatives involving both sides to achieve peace since the beginning of the war, Fidan said, reiterating Türkiye's readiness to provide all kinds of support to peace efforts, including hosting the talks.
Turkish-Georgian bilateral ties
Fidan said Türkiye and Georgia "are key to the transportation of Caspian energy resources to the world and European markets.”
Stating that they have been contributing to energy security for many years with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline, Fidan said that they are trying to transform cooperation with Georgia into concrete projects in trilateral and quadrilateral formats.
In extensive talks, said Fidan, he expressed Türkiye's satisfaction to see that the new Georgian government has the same determination to deepen relations further.
On trade ties between Ankara and Tbilisi, Fidan said: “Türkiye has been Georgia's number one trade partner for 16 years. Last year, our trade volume exceeded $3 billion. We are working to increase this figure to $5 billion.
"We are also making efforts to increase Turkish investments in Georgia. The Caspian Trans-Caspian East-West Central Corridor is an important element in east-west connectivity. In this context, we attach great importance to the full capacity operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, which is the backbone of the Central Corridor."
Stating that they also discussed military and defense industry cooperation, Fidan said that they evaluated how existing projects carried out both bilaterally and within the scope of NATO could proceed.
Underlining that Türkiye's position on developments that could threaten Georgia's territorial integrity is clear and unambiguous, Fidan said, referring to two so-called independent areas of the country: “We appreciate Georgia's will for peaceful resolution of the Abkhazia and South Ossetia conflicts. We will resolutely continue our strong support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Telling how Ahiska Turks were forcibly exiled from their homeland 80 years ago, Fidan underlined that they are ready to provide the necessary support for the return of Ahiska Turks to Georgia.
'Huge potential' for more cooperation
Noting that there are active projects in the field of energy and transportation currently being implemented with the contributions of Türkiye, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, Fidan stressed that these are important projects for boosting the region’s prosperity and establishing and maintaining peace.
“The transportation of Caspian energy resources to the world and European markets, our cooperation in the Black Sea, these are all extremely important strategic areas. The projects we have realized are small compared to those we will do in the future.”
1992 Khojaly Massacre
Commemorating the Azerbaijanis who were massacred, wounded, captured, or disappeared 33 years ago in Khojaly, Azerbaijan, Fidan said: “We still carry this pain in our hearts."
Soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenian forces took over the town of Khojaly in Karabakh on Feb. 26, 1992, after battering it with heavy artillery and tanks.
The town was the site of a two-hour Armenian offensive that killed 613 Azerbaijani civilians –including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people – and seriously injured 487 others, according to Azerbaijani figures.
Transition process in Syria must be inclusive, must not allow separatism
On Syria, Fidan stressed Türkiye's expectation that the next steps in the country's political transition are inclusive and implemented in a way that blocks separatist movements.
Emphasizing that they are closely following developments in Syria, Fidan said he hopes the National Dialogue Conference, which concluded on Tuesday, would be beneficial for Syria and its people.
Israel blocking peace
On Israel's actions, Fidan said that the biggest obstacle to peace and stability in the region is Israel's aggression at the regional level and the events in Palestine.
Fidan underlined that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's rhetoric on Syria clearly shows he is not in favor of peace, emphasizing that Israel must put an end to "its regional expansionism” pursued under the “guise of security."
Noting that they should aim for peace and justice in all global wars and crises, he stressed that turning a blind eye to other wars while trying to resolve some conflicts is against the law and human values.
