Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan , who has repeatedly suggested Istanbul as a venue for talks, will stress the “strategic priority” of maintaining security in the Black Sea at a summit on Ukraine in Paris this week, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said, Reuters reports.
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French President Emmanuel Macron convened a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” on January 6. The group, led by the UK and France, includes more than 30 countries.
According to sources, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the meeting and reiterate Turkey's position on the need for “result-oriented” steps to end the war.
Negotiations at the Paris summit will focus on the articles of the US draft plan to end the war, as well as on security guarantees for Ukraine and the possible role that the Coalition could play.
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Fidan will point to the specific results of three previous rounds of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul, including the exchange of prisoners, and reiterate Ankara's proposal to hold a meeting of the leaders of the warring parties.
Fidan “will state that Turkey views maintaining security in the Black Sea as a strategic priority and that it reminds all parties of its position on the issue,” the source said.
NATO member Turkey maintained friendly ties with Moscow and Kiev throughout the war. It provided military support to Ukraine but refused to join Western sanctions against Russia.
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Ankara has warned both sides about a recent escalation in the Black Sea, which has seen Russian and Turkish ships attacked by drones and Ukrainian ports damaged. Turkey has also seen a series of drones enter its airspace in recent weeks, with one shot down near its capital.
Previously, “FACTS” wrote that an American reconnaissance UAV is again patrolling the Black Sea.