Turkey: Dialogue between Russia and US, NATO to be key in easing Ukraine tensions

Russia’s talks with US, NATO to be ‘decisive’ in easing Ukraine tensions, says Mevlut Cavusoglu

In easing tensions on Ukraine, Russia’s talks with the US and NATO will be “decisive,” Turkey’s foreign minister has said.

“The dialogue between NATO and Russia, and the US and Russia, will be decisive in this matter,” Cavusoglu told reporters on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Noting plans for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday in Geneva, Cavusoglu said: “Tensions are ongoing and serious. We’ll continue our contacts. The goal is to reduce tension.”

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said that he believes Russia will move to invade Ukraine while continuing to warn his counterpart Vladimir Putin of devastating repercussions should he do so.

Russia has recently amassed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s eastern border, prompting fears that it is planning another military offensive against its former Soviet neighbor. Moscow has dismissed the concerns.

Russian forces entered the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014, with Putin formally dividing the region into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.

Turkey and the US, as well as the UN General Assembly view the annexation as illegal.

According to the UN, fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has seen more than 13,000 people killed since 2014.