Erdogan urges NATO not to be part of the conflict in Ukraine

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara that the country has stepped up efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, and called on the alliance not to be part of this conflict. This was announced on May 13 by the Communications Department of the Republic of Turkey.

It is reported that during the meeting, relations between Turkey and NATO, the development of the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, as well as a number of regional and global issues were discussed. According to Erdogan, Turkey attaches great importance to NATO, and in confirmation of this, Ankara will once again assume command of the alliance's forces in Kosovo.

The Turkish leader also noted that the country has stepped up its efforts to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia by establishing a "lasting and just peace."

"President Erdogan <...> stated that Turkey strongly supports the establishment of a comprehensive ceasefire and maintains its position that NATO should not be a part of this <conflict>, and noted that the opportunity for peace should not be missed," the communications department's page on the social network X (former. Twitter).

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Information about the meeting level was not disclosed.

Earlier, on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan held telephone talks. The Turkish leader welcomed the Russian Federation's proposal to resume direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, stressing his willingness to provide a venue for the meeting in Istanbul.