Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at SCO Summit said that ended the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible”.
Erdogan has been trying to use his good working relations with Moscow to try and persuade Putin to hold direct ceasefire talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey. He told in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan that Turkey was making diplomatic efforts to end the war between the two states.
“We are making efforts to finalize the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy as soon as possible,” Erdogan said. He said “We are making sincere efforts to deliver the grain to those who need it most, especially our brothers and sisters in Africa”
Erdogan holds a private meeting with Russian President Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan. NATO member Turkey has been supplying weapons to Ukraine while trying to boost trade with Russia during the war.
Erdogan argues that this “balanced” position is required because of Turkey’s heavy dependence on Russian energy supplies. Remember that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended SCO Summit where he also meets Russian President Vladimir Putin.