International Desk: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mediation to resolve their dam crisis.
Turkish media outlet Daily Sabah reported that Erdogan spoke with Putin and Zelensky a few days after taking office for a second term as president.
The Turkish leader held separate phone conversations with Putin and Zelensky as the situation in the ongoing war between the two neighbors worsened. At that time, he made that proposal. Turkish media outlet Hürriyet Daily reported that Erdogan spoke first with Zelenskiy and then with Putin after taking office as Turkey’s 13th president on Wednesday.
According to the news, one country is blaming another country for the recent destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. In this context, Turkish President Erdogan has proposed the formation of an international commission with the participation of experts from Russia and Ukraine, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, to investigate the dam destruction.
According to the report, these words were said in a separate statement issued by the Turkish Presidency after talks with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
Erdogan also told his counterparts in the phone call that Turkey is ready to do whatever is necessary to this end. In this context, the Turkish president recalled the grain agreement between the two warring countries. The agreement was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations.
Erdogan also urged the Ukrainian and Russian leaders to return to talks, the Turkish president’s office said. Because prolonging the war will result in more civilian casualties. Erdogan also said that Ankara wants to continue its efforts for just peace. Incidentally, the grain agreement was reached in mid-2022. Since then, more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain have been exported to the world market.
