Turkish FM urges Black Sea restraint in Ukraine trip

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their meeting in Moscow, Russia. (AFP)

KYIV: Turkiye’s foreign minister said Thursday that Ankara did not want to see the Ukraine war spread further into the Black Sea, during a visit to Kyiv to promote mediation efforts.
Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly struck each other’s ships in the Black Sea — a key waterway for both countries’ exports — throughout the conflict since February 2022.
“We do not want the war to spread to the Black Sea,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference alongside his Ukrainian counterpart.
“There is simply no explanation for a war in Europe to continue for five years in the 21st century. We need peace more than ever,” he added.
Turkiye has hosted several rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia — at the start of the war and again in 2025.
They resulted only in large-scale prisoner exchangers, which had been ongoing anyway.
Fidan, who met President Vladimir Putin in Russia last month, said Turkiye was ready to host future talks.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said President Volodymyr Zelensky would be ready to meet Putin in Turkiye.
The Kremlin chief has repeatedly rejected meeting Zelensky until a deal is agreed to end the war.
US-led talks have stalled and the two sides remain far apart in their terms for peace.