Turkey, UN agree to maintain close coordination to prevent crises
As the number of people internally displaced and affected by the war in Ukraine is growing, Turkey and the United Nations discussed the need for a cease-fire as well as Ankara’s role in facilitated the opening of humanitarian corridors
PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın discussed plans to establish a humanitarian contact group for civilians in Ukraine with a top United Nations aid official in the capital Ankara on Monday.
Kalın and U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths discussed the current situation in Ukraine and providing the people with humanitarian assistance.
The plan to establish the humanitarian contact group on Ukraine, which will include officials from Russia, Ukraine, the U.N. and Turkey, was reviewed in depth.
The importance of Turkey’s diplomacy in opening humanitarian corridors in war zones in Ukraine and evacuating civilians was also stressed during the meeting.
The need to reach a cease-fire and make progress in peace talks to end Ukraine’s present humanitarian crisis was emphasized and satisfaction was expressed for the evacuations from Mariupol.
“Our multifaceted initiatives to end the war in Ukraine and deliver humanitarian assistance continue,” Kalın said in a statement he posted on Twitter. He continued by noting that the continuation of the war does not benefit anyone and that plans to establish a new order would create new conflicts.
Meanwhile, Turkey and the U.N. agreed to maintain close coordination and cooperation to prevent humanitarian crises.
Last month, Griffiths said Turkey “comes closest” among other countries to fulfilling the role as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia on humanitarian issues.
In March, the U.N. said some 90% of the Ukrainian population could fall into deep poverty.
The Russian invasion has devastated several Ukrainian cities, caused a humanitarian crisis and forced millions to flee their homes.
Turkey’s delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them. In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29 as the war entered its second month with casualties piling up on both sides.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar discussed the safe transportation of Turkish commercial ships and the stranded A400M Turkish aircraft with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, yesterday.
According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, Akar told Reznikov that Turkey will continue to do its part in establishing peace in Ukraine and send humanitarian aid.
He also reiterated the importance of declaring a permanent cease-fire at the earliest.