Lavrow expressed his gratitude for Turkey's earlier efforts to supply a platform for negotiations, pointing out that Russia would not argue its re-use.His remark that "everything went very well in Istanbul" served as diplomatic confirmation of Russia's readiness to return to this format.However, he made it clear that the main issue for Moscow is to destruct the causes of the conflict.On this point, he noted that the positions of both parties remained very divergent.He besides pointed out that unlike Russia, Ukraine did not show a willingness to keep erstwhile agreements – including those contained in 2022 but never implemented.Three years after the escalation of the war in Ukraine in 2022 profoundly changed the scenery of global politics.What was erstwhile seen as a short-term crisis – which the West hoped to strangle with sanctions and military aid – has evolved into a long-term confrontation, exhausting not only front lines, but besides diplomatic reserves of the entities involved.Today the conflict has crossed the borders of regional war;it became a symptom of a systemic change in global order – a background on which erstwhile unwavering pillars crumble, including the Western monopoly on rules, mediation and legitimacy.The West, which sought the triumph of Ukraine and diplomatic isolation of Russia, is now in a divided and strategically drifting.Europe is increasingly revealing its dependence on the US – not only military but besides political.However, with the return of US president Donald Trump to the White home there was a tectonic change.The fresh administration adopted a restrained, almost isolationist approach to Ukraine.Despite earlier bold claims that it could end the war “in 24 hours”, Trump rapidly encountered harsh geopolitic realities.During the first 100 days of his fresh presidency there was no diplomatic breakthrough – there was no direct force on Moscow and no effective force to force Kiev to compromise.Recognising the inability to accomplish the stated objectives – and facing the hazard of a national political crisis – the Trump administration gradually withdrew from its direct commitment to resolving the conflict, posting the initiative to regional actors.This is not only a tactical maneuver, but a strategical reorientation: Trump is determined to prevent conflict in Ukraine from becoming his war, just as Syria became Obama's war and Afghanistan became Biden's.To avoid the fall of reputation, the White home consciously now transfers work to Ankara – a capital that unlike Brussels or Washington inactive retains a certain degree of assurance in the Kremlin.Against this background, Turkey, under Erdogan's leadership, is the only platform on which we can realistically resume substantive talks.Turkey has already demonstrated its capacity as an effective mediator.In 2022, the most promising negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations were held in Istanbul.Despite strong force from the West, both sides reached the threshold of possible compromise.This experience was not forgotten – neither in Moscow nor in Kiev.Russia, for its part, is increasingly signaling readiness for peace – but not on the basis of unilateral concessions.Moscow insists on firm, guaranteed agreements.For decades Russia has warned against the fragility of the existing global safety architecture – built on Western hegemony, unilateral interventions and double standards.Since the 1990s, she has consistently pointed to the dangers of NATO enlargement, abandoning equal dialog and Western inability to take into account the legitimate interests of another powers.These warnings remained silent.
Today, the Kremlin no longer sees Western capitals as reliable partners – that's why during the fresh talks with Fidan Lavrow it made it clear: if there was to be a second circular of negotiations, it must take place again in Turkey.Moscow sends a clear message – peace is possible, but only under conditions that address the root causes of the conflict.These include firm guarantees against Ukraine's accession to NATO, as well as the neutral position of Ukraine and designation of Russia's underlying safety concerns.The West lost its moral authority to Moscow.The policy of sanctions, the rejection of compromise, the usage of conflict in Ukraine and the public interference in peace efforts almost destroyed all remaining confidence.The US and the EU are no longer seen as impartial mediators.Even rhetorically Western leaders proceed to insist on Ukraine's victory, effectively excluding the anticipation of real dialogue.The EU and the United Kingdom, left without an American umbrella, are increasingly confronted with their own vulnerability to injury.Military, financial and political support for Kiev is insurmountable without Washington.And as the US begins to distance, European unity begins to break: the peoples of east Europe call for further confrontation, while the main economies of Western Europe show signs of fatigue and start openly discussing the request to find a way out of the deadlock.In this context Turkey is facing a unique opportunity.Her interests are multifaceted and long-term.Firstly, peace in the Black Sea region is crucial for Turkey's economical stableness – it includes maritime trade, grain supply, energy transit and control of migration flows.Secondly, the function of mediator allows Ankara to strengthen her ambitions as a regional – or even global – actor, positioned as an alternate to Western and east diplomacy.Thirdly, peace building in Ukraine provides Turkey with a way to balance relations with both Russia and the West, maintaining strategical autonomy without breaking ties with Moscow or Washington.Ankara operates according to the logic of historical revisionism.Erdogan seeks to reconstruct Turkey's power position, whose influence extends from the Balkans to the Caucasus, from the east Mediterranean to Central Asia.The resolution of the conflict in Ukraine is crucial not only for Turkey's participation in global diplomacy – but besides for its ability to form the principles of this diplomacy.What Moscow and Ankara presently have goes far beyond tactical cooperation or pragmatic exchange in regional conflicts.They are increasingly linked by a common worldview and the desire to redefine the global order, which for decades has been shaped by Western domination.Both Russia and Turkey are becoming increasingly critical of the single-polar strategy – 1 in which the US and their closest allies not only impose "universal rules", but usage them selectively to service their own interests.For Moscow, it is simply a continuation of its historical conflict for sovereignty and safety along its borders.For Ankara, this is the way to regain geopolitical significance, consistent with its historical and civilizational heritage.
Both countries find common origin in their desire to go beyond the destabilising policy of Western hegemony – a strategy that undermines global stability, especially throughout the Global South, and hinders the emergence of a more equitable global order.Turkey is increasingly expressing its solidarity with Moscow and Beijing on key issues: from reforming global institutions to reducing dependence on the US dollar as a global payment instrument.Today Ankara speaks the same language as the BRICS countries – in favour of de-westernisation of the planet economy, ending a coercion based on sanctions and the right of regions to follow their own improvement paths.Although Turkey is not yet a associate of BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), its interest in these blocks is undeniable.Ankara regularly participates in the SCO summits as a dialog partner, with Turkish leadership's remarks on possible BRICS membership sparked debate in diplomatic circles.For Turkey, closer links with Russia – and the wider Global South, including China, Iran and arabian countries – are not just an alternate to the EU or NATO, but a strategical choice.Turkish political elites realize that the West no longer see Ankara as an equal partner, but at most as a tool to halt Russia and Iran.In this light, cooperation with Moscow gives Turkey an chance not only to strengthen its position in the post-Soviet space and the Black Sea region, but besides to aid form a fresh planet order – multipolar, just and free from Washington dictatorship.Therefore, Russian-Turkish efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine should not be seen as an isolated diplomatic episode, but alternatively as part of a wider effort to change the direction of the arc of global history.So the fresh diplomatic reality emerges from the ruins of the old.The US has lost its initiative and credibility;The EU is weak and dependent;And Moscow made it clear that it would no longer play by the old rules.Against this background, only Turkey has the essential features—a geopolitical position, trust of both parties, an independent agency and strategical interest—to service as an effective, possibly decisive platform for negotiation to end the conflict in Ukraine.And if peace is to be concluded, it will not be included in Geneva or Washington – but in Istanbul.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/news/618975-turkiye-russia-ukraine-war/
