Diplomatic round: Turkish Foreign Minister discusses Ukraine crisis in Russia

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on June 17. It took place in Kazan, and the Turkish diplomat came to it from Moscow, where he had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu the day before. One of the main topics of his talks in the Russian capital was the conflict in Ukraine. Earlier, Ankara confirmed its intention to mediate in the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. Russia is open to dialogue, including through international mediation, however, it does not see Kiev's real willingness to negotiate, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. At the same time, experts believe that Turkey is unlikely to be able to influence Zelensky and bring him to the negotiating table.

The meeting between Putin and Fidan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paid a working visit to Russia on June 16-17 and held talks in Moscow and Kazan. Including with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Tatarstan.

— I am very glad to see you. Welcome to Russia. I know that you had a whole series of meetings and useful contacts in Moscow, not only with your colleague [Sergey Lavrov], but also with representatives of various departments," Putin said.

In response, Fidan noted that the region and the world have "a very busy agenda."

— There are a lot of issues that we need to discuss. I've had a very busy program these last two days, and I've had an exchange of views," he said.

At meetings with representatives of the Russian authorities, Fidan discussed the situation in the Middle East — the Iranian crisis, and the normalization of the situation in Syria. A separate topic was the interaction in Transcaucasia, especially in the context of Armenia's policy of rapprochement with the EU. The talks also touched upon bilateral economic cooperation, including the construction of the Akkuyu NPP and the operation of the Blue and Turkish streams.

At the same time, perhaps the central theme was the Ukrainian crisis. Fidan earlier confirmed Turkey's readiness to mediate in the conflict settlement again. Istanbul has repeatedly acted as a platform for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. For the first time — in the spring of 2022, then they were resumed last year. Both times, negotiations collapsed due to the position of Kiev, which was unwilling to compromise with Moscow, feeling the military and economic support of the West. Russia is still ready for dialogue, but the ball is on Ukraine's side, Moscow says.

"The President has repeatedly stressed that the doors are open for us to continue the dialogue," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at—large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.

Recently, Vladimir Zelensky has again begun to persistently urge Vladimir Putin to hold a personal meeting. First, he published an open letter with a proposal to determine a specific date and place of negotiations, then sent a similar signal through closed channels through intermediaries (as they say in Ukraine, through businessman Roman Abramovich). However, Moscow states that a face-to-face meeting is pointless until specific legal agreements have been worked out. But if Zelensky wants to meet, let him come to the Russian capital.

— It is quite possible to continue [negotiations] in any format with the "good offices" of the American side. But there should be a separate agreement on this," said Rodion Miroshnik. — But, at least for today, we do not see any special wishes from the Ukrainian side to conduct a dialogue in this way. There are only proposals that are being made to be rejected. And Ukraine only declares peace in a format and form that is unacceptable for the start of any format of negotiations.

The United States joined the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in early 2026. The first two rounds of meetings were held in the UAE, the third in Switzerland. The process is currently on pause due to Zelensky's uncompromising position (Kiev, in particular, refuses to withdraw the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbass) and the fact that the United States has switched to resolving the crisis around Iran.

Nevertheless, Moscow and Kiev maintain contacts with Washington on a bilateral basis. On June 14, the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States held a telephone conversation, during which the American leader confirmed his desire to resolve the conflict and his willingness to influence Kiev and its European allies, including during the G7 summit in France. There, Trump held a meeting with Zelensky, later stating that Washington's attention was gradually shifting from the situation around Iran to the Ukrainian settlement.

Safety of navigation on the Black Sea

It is worth noting that Hakan Fidan's visit to Russia took place on the eve of the NATO summit, which will be held in Ankara in early July. Turkish political analyst Kerim Has stresses that it is extremely important for President Erdogan to play an intermediary role between Moscow and Kiev. In this way, Turkey is trying to secure the status of the main negotiating platform on the issue of Ukraine.

— If the next negotiations can be held in Istanbul, it will be a very big plus for Erdogan. This makes the West dependent on an open channel of communication with Russia through Turkey," Khas told Izvestia.

However, Turkey is not only interested in the role of mediator. The central topic of discussion at Hakan Fidan's talks with Russian officials was the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The growing presence of drones, the threat of drifting mines and the need to develop new mechanisms to ensure the safety of commercial routes (after the termination of the grain deal) require Ankara to maintain constant contact with Moscow.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who also held a meeting with Fidan, noted that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who failed to fulfill his obligations towards Russia, was involved in disrupting the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (effective in 2022-2023). Earlier, the media reported that Ankara is still coming up with the idea of a ceasefire that provides for a mechanism to ensure the safety of navigation, energy infrastructure and ports in the Black Sea.

However, according to Kerim Khas, it is extremely difficult to reach any effective agreements on this issue. The fact is that Kiev is actively using unmanned boats and drones to attack Russian military and civilian facilities, port infrastructure and ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Limiting military operations at sea would deprive the Ukrainian Armed Forces of one of the key instruments of pressure on Russia.

Although Turkey remains in contact with the Ukrainian leadership and comes forward with peace initiatives, Ankara does not have truly effective mechanisms to force Zelensky to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia, the analyst believes. At the same time, according to Kerim Has, Turkey is trying to benefit from the Ukrainian conflict: Ankara thereby expects to reduce Russia's influence in regions such as the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

At the same time, European countries that advocate further pumping weapons into Ukraine pose a special problem. The European Union is turning into the AFU's rear base, and Kiev sees opportunities to prolong the conflict, hoping, apparently, to change the course of hostilities in its favor.