Turkey ready to facilitate negotiations on Ukraine, but does not expect them soon — MFA

NEW YORK, July 6. /TASS/. Turkey is ready to facilitate the negotiations on Ukraine, but does not expect dialogue to resume anytime soon, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated in an interview with The New York Times.

He explained that Ankara intends to facilitate negotiations to end the conflict, but does not believe they will continue in the near future. It is important to see a real and sincere intention and effort towards peace on both sides, Fidan said.

The Turkish foreign minister recently visited Russia. During his trip Fidan was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan on June 17. In Moscow, he engaged in discussions with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide and chief negotiator for Ukraine Vladimir Medinsky, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, as well as senior officials from Russia’s security and intelligence agencies, including FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate Igor Kostyukov, and presidential adviser Igor Levitin. Fidan stated that his country is ready to continue negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, prioritizing a return to diplomacy.