Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that he believes the Russian president wants to stop the war he started in Ukraine and that a “major step” would be taken.
Recent conversations with Vladimir Putin left him with the idea that he wished to “finish this as soon as possible.”
This month, Ukraine has recovered large portions of its land.
The Turkish leader stated that Russia was facing “significant difficulties.”
Mr. Erdogan stated that he and Mr. Putin had “long discussions” at a conference in Uzbekistan last week.
In an interview with PBS, the Turkish leader expressed his belief that the Russian president desired a swift end to the conflict.
Mr. Erdogan stated, “He is demonstrating to me that he is willing to terminate this as quickly as possible.” “That was my impression, as the current state of affairs is rather troublesome.”
He further stated that the two sides would shortly exchange 200 “hostages.” He did not elaborate on who would be included in such a prisoner exchange.
Mr. Erdogan has frequently attempted to mediate the conflict, pushing a “balanced” approach for NATO member Turkey while rejecting Western sanctions against Russia.
He assisted the United Nations in mediating the restart of grain exports from Ukraine and stated last week that he was attempting to organize direct peace negotiations.
Two months after Russian forces grabbed complete control of the eastern region of Luhansk, Ukraine recaptured a portion of the land.
Serhiy Haidai, the Ukrainian leader of Luhansk, stated that Russian soldiers had retreated from the settlement of Bilohorivka, but were making every effort to dig in elsewhere.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, “The occupiers are obviously in a state of fear.”
Mr. Erdogan accused the West of adopting a policy of “provocation” toward Russia earlier this month and warned that the war was unlikely to end “soon.”
The Russian leader stated last week that he was willing to meet with the Ukrainian president, but that Mr. Zelensky was not. He told India’s prime minister that he desired an immediate halt to the fighting.
However, Russia has not indicated that it is willing to meet Kiev’s requests for a complete pullout from Ukrainian territory, including 2014-seized areas.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has stated that Russian-backed separatists should hold “referendums” on annexing the Donbas areas of Luhansk and Donetsk. Crimea was annexed by Russia at the time.
President Putin has consistently defined the “liberation” of the Donbas region in Ukraine as Russia’s primary objective. Mr. Medvedev, the current deputy head of Russia’s security council, stated, “Referendums in Donbas are important.”
Local officials backed by Russia in Luhansk and Donetsk have also called for quick referendums. According to Oleksiy Koptyko, an adviser to the Ukrainian defense ministry, these calls are a “sign of panic” in Moscow and an attempt to provoke Mr. Putin into action.
In addition to recapturing a large portion of the Kharkiv area in the north-east, Ukrainian forces have started a counteroffensive in the southern province of Kherson, compelling its Russian-installed leader to postpone a referendum on joining Russia.
Mr. Erdogan responded, “No, categorically no,” when asked by PBS whether Russia should be let to hold any area it has seized since February and whether this should be part of a peace agreement.
He also stated that “invaded regions will be returned to Ukraine.” It was unclear whether he includes areas held by separatists supported by Russia since 2014.
Asked if Russia should be allowed to keep Crimea, which it acquired in 2014, Mr. Erdogan stated that since then, Turkey has been in discussions with Mr. Putin about returning the peninsula “to its legitimate owners,” but there has been no progress.
