Minister of Foreign Affairs Çavuşoğlu, "During today's meeting, we have assumed a facilitative role while reserving Türkiye's national stance. We, as Türkiye, drew particular attention to the priority of the humanitarian dimension."
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu evaluated the Russia-Ukraine-Türkiye tripartite meeting of foreign ministers held on the margins of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) at the Regnum Carya Hotel in Antalya with the mediation of Türkiye.
Çavuşoğlu stated that he underlined the necessity to immediately evacuate the civilians trapped in the warzone and added, "To achieve this, there is a need for a sustainable cease-fire. Humanitarian cease-fire should be effective on the ground until a sustainable cease-fire has been established. We have underlined once again that humanitarian corridors, in particular, should be kept open without any obstacles."
Çavuşoğlu also said they observed the situation on the ground during the evacuation of Turkish citizens.
Noting that the meeting served as a critical launching pad on a political level, Çavuşoğlu said:
"The topic of convening this meeting at the level of leaders has been raised. The Ukrainian side said (PresidentVolodymyr) Zelensky was ready for such a meeting, and (Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey) Lavrov said (Russian President Vladimir) Putin was not opposed to such a meeting in principle."
Noting that the meeting took place in a challenging environment owing to ongoing wars and conflicts, Çavuşoğlu said, "Naturally, this meeting occurred under these circumstances, but despite the difficulties, I can say that it was a highly civilised meeting. Certainly, the sides defended their positions and opinions in a civilised way."
When asked about Ukraine's demand for Türkiye to act as a guarantor of a peace agreement, Çavuşoğlu responded as follows:
"There are many topics that Russia and Ukraine are discussing, including neutrality, and the signing of a comprehensive peace treaty is also on the table. In such a case, Ukraine demanded some countries to be a guarantor, and one of these countries is Türkiye. Today at our bilateral meeting, Kuleba (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba) confirmed this once again."
Noting that they are exerting efforts to put an end to the bloodshed, destruction, and tears as soon as possible, Çavuşoğlu said that they believe the problems should be solved through dialogue.
Stressing that they are "aware of the fact that there will be no winner" in such wars, Çavuşoğlu said that if the war continues, innocent civilians would be the victims, and everyone would suffer, particularly the countries in the region.
Stating that with this understanding, once Russia's attack began, they continued their efforts by stepping up to address their problems through diplomacy, Çavuşoğlu noted that they maintained communication with both sides throughout the process.
Çavuşoğlu stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had phone calls with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and he had also met with them numerous times.
Noting that he invited all sides to come together, Çavuşoğlu further stressed the importance of holding this meeting, particularly within the context of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
"As Türkiye, we drew particular attention to the priority of the humanitarian dimension"
Noting that both sides particularly wanted Türkiye to be present at the meeting, Çavuşoğlu said, "We have assumed a facilitative role in today's meeting while reserving Türkiye's national stance. We, as Türkiye, drew particular attention to the priority of the humanitarian dimension."
Noting that they stressed the need for humanitarian corridors, particularly in Mariupol, during the meeting, Çavuşoğlu said that the sides would address the topic with the relevant authorities.
Noting the need for coordination in this situation, Çavuşoğlu stated that Russian forces had entered these regions, as have Ukrainian forces, but that if both sides fail to coordinate, evacuated civilians might face life-threatening danger.
Reminding that this meeting was the first gathering at the level of foreign ministers since the outbreak of the conflict, Çavuşoğlu said, "However, miracles are not expected just out of one meeting. There is an unstable process going on in Belarus as well. We, as Türkiye, encouraged the initiation of this process. During this period, especially the Ukrainian side desired these meetings to be held in Türkiye. Russia, however, desired it to be in Belarus."
Stating that they reiterated to the Ukrainian side of the exigencies of the situation, Çavuşoğlu said, "We would like to hold it in Türkiye; however, the location of the meeting is not important. What is important is to initiate the negotiations at this level as soon as possible. On the phone, Dmytro Kuleba informed me that our encouragement was successful. We will continue to bolster this effort. Our objective here is to restore regional peace and stability."
Çavuşoğlu expressed gratitude to both of his counterparts for accepting the invitation and attending the meeting with the confidence in himself and President Erdoğan.
"We would like to host, in Türkiye, again"
Following his remarks, Minister Çavuşoğlu took questions from members of the press.
When questioned about the environment of the tripartite meeting and how they evaluated it, Çavuşoğlu responded that the meeting did not generate any tension or that voices were not raised.
Stating that he did not expect all demands to be met at this first meeting held at the level of foreign ministers, Çavuşoğlu said that some decisions should be taken at the level of leaders.
Noting their desire for similar meetings to continue, Çavuşoğlu said, "We would like to host, in Türkiye, again if both parties agree to continue. If they choose to meet in another place, we would gladly appreciate that as well. Still, we see that both parties continue to place their trust in us".
Explaining that some progress should be made in the technical level negotiations to pave the way for the leaders' meetings, Çavuşoğlu stated that the tripartite meeting was concluded with the understanding that a decision would be reached as a result of the Belarus talks.
Hope for high-level meetings in the future
When asked about the meeting's most significant outcome, Çavuşoğlu stated that if the talks continue in the forthcoming period, the ultimate decision will be made by the politicians.
Çavuşoğlu said, "We believe that through confidence-building measures, a result will be achieved in the future."
In response to the questions, "Can we consider the outcome of this meeting to be positive? Will this meeting pave the way for future similar gatherings?" Çavuşoğlu said, "The meeting of the parties on a political level and their apparent willingness to meet at the level of leaders in the future, as well as Ukraine's clear readiness, rekindled our hope that such high-level meetings could take place in the future."