Ankara, 21 March 2022 (TDI): Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and informed him of Russia’s specific demands for a peace treaty with Ukraine.
According to Erdogan’s leading advisor and spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, the two leaders spoke for half an hour and the Russian President shared some of his demands for Ukraine.
The main among them is an acceptance by Ukraine that it should be neutral and should not apply to join Nato. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has already agreed to that. Other than this, Ukraine would have to go through a disarmament procedure to guarantee that it would not pose a danger to Russia. There would have to be protection for the Russian language in Ukraine and there would be a “de-Nazification” of Ukraine which the Turkish side believes Zelensky will accept. Perhaps condemning all kinds of neo-Nazism and promising to crack down on them would be enough for Ukraine.
Other than the aforementioned demands, a face-to-face discussion between Zelensky and Putin would be required before the agreement could be reached on the subject matter. Zelensky has previously stated that he is willing to meet with the Russian president to negotiate one-on-one.
Spokesperson Kalin was not specific about these issues, simply saying that they discussed the status of Donbas, which is in eastern Ukraine and has already broken away from Ukraine, emphasizing its Russianness, as well as the status of Crimea.
According to the President’s office, Erdogan informed Putin that Turkey was willing to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the issue.
“President Erdogan, who said an immediate ceasefire will not only ease humanitarian concerns in the region but also give the search for a political solution an opportunity, renewed his call of ‘let’s pave the way for peace together,” according to the spokesperson.
“Erdogan emphasized the importance of taking urgent steps to achieve a ceasefire, open humanitarian corridors, and sign a peace agreement.”
