Turkish FM says ceasefire next step in Ukraine-Russia negotiations

This was reported by Hürriyet, according to Ukrinform.

"As the negotiation process begins, I see that the issue is starting to take a more optimistic shape. Both sides want a ceasefire, no one would say 'I don't want a ceasefire'. At this point, we are trying to do our best as Türkiye," Fidan told journalists en route to Kyiv.

In the context of talks between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish minister noted some diplomatic success.

"If there is one diplomatic success that I have seen, it is that the parties agreed to talk to each other and achieved certain results as a result. As you know, the exchange of one thousand prisoners was an important step in this regard. Later, the step of the parties officially writing down their ceasefire positions for the first time, conveying them to the other party and continuing the negotiations on this basis is also an important step," he noted.

The Turkish Foreign Minister positively assessed the outcome of his visit to Russia, noting that he is now awaiting confirmation of the date for the next round of negotiations between the delegations in Istanbul, scheduled for June 2.

Fidan emphasized that at the start of ceasefire negotiations, the positions of the parties were very far apart.

"These conditions (for a ceasefire) are now open to negotiation. I think the positions of both sides — Ukrainians and Russians — will initially be far from each other. But we hope that our intervention can bring the sides closer," he added.

The minister stressed that Türkiye maintains contact with both Ukraine and Russia, as well as with European countries, and is ready to comprehensively support progress in the negotiation process.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is visiting Ukraine from May 29 to 30.

Before that, he visited Russia.

On May 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow had proposed holding a second round of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on June 2.

Photo: Fidan / X