Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday voiced concern over a recent escalation in the Ukraine war, warning of the risk that the conflict could spread geographically.
Speaking during a visit to Moscow at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Fidan said the increase in attacks away from the front lines and threats to navigation in the Black Sea were harming the interests of third countries.
“The recent escalation in the Ukraine war and the danger of its geographical expansion are a source of serious concern,” Fidan said.
#Canlı 📡
Bakanımız @HakanFidan’ın Rusya Federasyonu Dışişleri Bakanı Sergey Lavrov ile Ortak Basın Toplantısı
📍Moskova https://t.co/71gnY3FYmt
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) June 16, 2026
“In particular, the increase in attacks on targets behind the front lines and attacks threatening the safety of navigation in the Black Sea have effects that harm the interests of third parties. Certain de-escalatory measures are therefore necessary,” he added.
His remarks came a day after a Russian missile and drone attack killed 11 people across Ukraine and damaged a cathedral in central Kyiv.
Ukraine responded with an attack on an oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow, a strike aimed at Russia’s vital oil revenues, which Kyiv says help fund the war.
Turkey has sought to position itself as a possible mediator between Moscow and Kyiv and has hosted several rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. None of the talks has produced a breakthrough.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained hard-line territorial and political demands that Kyiv has rejected as amounting to capitulation. He has also rejected repeated requests for a face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Fidan’s comments came as Kyiv’s allies were meeting in France on Tuesday at the G7 summit, where US President Donald Trump urged Moscow to “make a deal” to end the war.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, destroying large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, forcing millions of people from their homes and killing tens of thousands of civilians.
© Agence France-Presse