Zelenskyy: Türkiye as sole mediator isn't enough for us

Zelenskyy and Erdoğan on 8 March 2024 in Istanbul. Photo: Getty Images
Zelenskyy and Erdoğan on 8 March 2024 in Istanbul. Photo: Getty Images
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that while he appreciates Türkiye's help, Türkiye alone will not be enough as a mediator in the war.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "They [Türkiye – ed.] want to be mediators. But President Erdoğan knows... I am grateful to him for everything, but he should know that Türkiye alone as a mediator is not enough for us. The Peace Summit format is better for us.

I do not believe that Türkiye alone would be able to clamp down on Putin's policy, with all due respect to our Turkish partners. They have done a lot for us, but they also have a strong relationship with Russia and their own interests, including economic interests. So I think Türkiye would not be enough.

Of course they will be among the leaders and countries that can carry out a mediation mission. But we need more than mediation. Because Minsk [the Minsk agreements of 2014-15] was also on a mediation mission, and that yielded no result – at least, not one that was positive for us."

Details: Zelenskyy added that arranging the Peace Summit, which is planned to be held in Switzerland, is difficult because Ukraine needs to bring a large number of countries together.

However, in his opinion, this number of countries "will be able to at least try to force Russia into a just peace".

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