Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider a limited ceasefire covering ports and energy infrastructure during face-to-face talks on Friday, as Turkey seeks to reduce risks to Black Sea shipping amid the war in Ukraine.
According to a statement from Erdoğan’s office, the Turkish leader told Putin that efforts to end the war remain valuable and that “implementing a limited ceasefire targeting energy facilities and ports in particular could be beneficial.”
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan and followed a series of attacks on Russia-linked oil tankers in the Black Sea, some of which Ukraine has said were carried out using naval drones.
Those incidents drew a sharp response from Ankara, which summoned diplomats from both Russia and Ukraine and warned that the strikes represented a “worrying escalation” that could threaten maritime security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Turkey has been working on proposals for a ceasefire focused specifically on energy infrastructure and shipping lanes.
“President Erdoğan mentioned this to me. I told him we would support it,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv. He said Erdoğan proposed holding talks first at a technical level and later at the level of national leaders.
“I told him we are ready,” Zelensky said, adding that the United States believes an agreement may be within reach.
Zelensky said Russia has so far rejected the idea of any interim ceasefire, insisting instead on a comprehensive peace deal before agreeing to pause hostilities.
“From what I understand, the Russians told them they would not agree to any ceasefire unless a full agreement is signed,” he said.
Turkey has tried to position itself as a mediator since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, maintaining working relations with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Ankara controls the Bosporus Strait, a strategic waterway linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and a key route for Ukrainian grain exports and Russian oil shipments.
Erdoğan reiterated in November that a ceasefire protecting energy facilities and ports could serve as a starting point for broader negotiations, speaking during an online meeting of Ukraine’s international partners.
© Agence France-Presse