Some of those talks in 2022 were also hosted by Turkiye, highlighting the central role the country has played in the search for a resolution to one of the world\u2019s most significant geopolitical conflicts.<\/p>\n
Turkiye is also poised to expand its influence in Syria, where the US has lifted sanctions<\/a> on the Turkish-allied government, and has a significant win on the domestic front, after the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK) announced this week that it was disbanding<\/a>, ending a 40-year war against the Turkish state.<\/p>\n A direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy on Turkish soil would have capped off a strong week for Turkiye, but analysts say that its central role to the process is a victory nonetheless.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkiye stands to win diplomatically whichever way the talks go,\u201d Ziya Meral of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said, even if the analyst ultimately was sceptical of any peace framework emerging from the talks. \u201cIt fulfils Ankara\u2019s desire to be a negotiator and key player in regional developments. The fact that Ankara is in a position to engage both with the United States and Russia, as well as Ukraine is indeed a diplomatic success.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last 15 years or so, Turkiye has established itself as a significant diplomatic player, extending its influence across Africa and playing a pivotal role in the overthrow of long-term Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, all while maintaining an intensely delicate balancing act between belligerents in the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many reasons why Turkiye is hosting the talks,\u201d Omer Ozkizilcik, a non-resident fellow at The Atlantic Council, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkiye started a peace process independent of the US shortly after the invasion, leading to the Istanbul protocols of 2022. This is also a new model of negotiation, pioneered by Turkiye,\u201d he said, referring to the draft peace agreement brokered between the two states that Russia has since accused<\/a> Ukraine and the West of walking away from.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore, neutral states such as Switzerland with no stake in the conflict would mediate. Now, under a new model, Turkiye is successfully negotiating in conflicts where it does have diplomatic, economic and geopolitical stakes,\u201d Ozkizilcik added, listing a number of disputes where Turkiye had played a mediating role, such as that between Ethiopia and Somalia, where Turkiye was able to negotiate in December a \u201chistoric reconciliation<\/a>\u201d in President Recep Tayyip Erodgan\u2019s words.<\/p>\n Turkiye has its own interests across these countries, including its supply of drones to Ukraine and a significant military presence in Somalia. However, it is still able to present itself as a reliable arbitrator in peace talks involving these countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a new Turkish model that is seeing the country emerge as a regional diplomatic power,\u201d Ozkizilcik said.<\/p>\n The balancing act Turkiye has followed in negotiating between Russia and Ukraine hasn\u2019t been easy \u2013 particularly when Ankara has had to take into account its opposition to Russian expansionism in the Black Sea region and Moscow\u2019s support for parties opposed to Ankara in the Middle East and North Africa.<\/p>\n Turkiye labelled Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine a \u201cwar\u201d early in the conflict, allowing it to implement the 1936 Montreux Convention<\/a> \u2013 effectively confining Russia\u2019s military vessels to the Black Sea.<\/p>\n Ankara and Moscow have also found themselves on opposing sides in Libya and Syria. In Libya, Turkiye backs the United Nations-recognised government, in contrast to Russia\u2019s support for armed forces in the insurgent east, while in Syria, Turkiye supported the ultimately victorious opposition forces against the Russian-backed al-Assad regime.<\/p>\n Syria was the source of the biggest tension between the two when, in 2015, Turkiye shot down a Russian fighter jet<\/a> near the Turkiye-Syria border. The incident triggered a severe deterioration in diplomatic and economic ties, but a Turkish statement of regret led to a rapprochement the next year, and relations have remained strong.<\/p>\n Those strong ties have also survived Turkiye\u2019s supply of drones and other military equipment to Ukraine throughout the course of the war.<\/p>\n Russia has seemingly turned a blind eye to that, and maintains \u201ceconomic, diplomatic and energy relations\u201d with Turkiye, Ozkizilcik said.<\/p>\n The benefits of good relations with Turkiye seem to outweigh Russia\u2019s unhappiness with some aspects of Turkish policy, and Turkiye\u2019s position as a member of NATO that Russia can still deal with is in itself useful.<\/p>\n In 2022, Turkiye was prominent in opposing Western sanctions on Russia; describing them as a \u201cprovocation<\/a>\u201c. And Turkiye has rarely been content to toe the NATO line, for a time opposing Sweden and Finland\u2019s<\/a> entry into the alliance, and also agreeing on a deal to buy Russia\u2019s S-400 missile system in 2017.<\/a><\/p>\n Turkiye\u2019s purchase of the missile system led to US sanctions<\/a>, exclusion from the F-35 defence programme and accusations in some quarters that Ankara was \u201cturning its back<\/a>\u201d on the West as part of a pivot towards Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth sides have learned to compartmentalise differences,\u201d Ozkizilcik said. He referred to an attack in 2020 that killed more than 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria by regime forces acting in coordination with Russia. \u201cThere were talks, both sides met and addressed the issue and they moved on. More recently, when Turkish-backed forces overthrew the Assad regime, Erdogan still called Putin on his birthday and congratulated him.\u201d<\/p>\n But Turkiye has been able to strengthen its relationship with the West in the years since, demonstrating its usefulness, particularly when it came to Ukraine.<\/p>\n Turkiye was instrumental in brokering a deal in 2022 to allow Ukraine to export its grain by sea, and has also been firm in its stance that Russian-occupied Crimea \u2013 the homeland of the Turkic Muslim Crimean Tatars \u2013 be returned to Ukraine.<\/p>\n Steven Horrell, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, believes that Ukraine \u201cappreciates Turkiye\u2019s past support to them\u201d, even if it has some qualms about its ties with Russia.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy has repeatedly thanked Erdogan for his role in facilitating talks and in supporting Ukraine. On Thursday, the Ukrainian leader highlighted Turkiye\u2019s support for Ukraine, and even said that his country\u2019s participation in direct talks \u2013 despite Putin\u2019s absence \u2013 was \u201cout of respect\u201d for Erdogan and US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, Zelenskyy had thanked Erdogan for his support \u201cand readiness to facilitate diplomacy at the highest level\u201d.<\/p>\n I spoke with the President of T\u00fcrkiye @RTErdogan<\/a> to discuss key details of the meeting in T\u00fcrkiye, which could help bring an end to the war. I am grateful for his support and readiness to facilitate diplomacy at the highest level. We share a common view on the need for a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/BX1pw28f3x<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) May 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The emphasis on mutual respect and friendship highlights that for Ukraine, Turkiye is not an ally it can afford to lose.<\/p>\n And that gives Turkiye some leeway in its ability to maintain close ties to Russia without any negative backlash from the West, and a chance to fulfil some of its own goals.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkiye would certainly gain some prestige from hosting the talks, even more so if they are successful,\u201d said Horrell. \u201cTurkiye views itself not just as a regional leader, but truly a leader on the global stage. They gain in both of the bilateral relationships with Russia and Ukraine if they help achieve the goals of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Ukrainian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/13045897-1747308691.jpg\")
A handout picture made available by the Turkish Presidential Press Office shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posing for an official photo prior to their meeting in Ankara, Turkiye, May 15, 2025 [Turkish Presidential Press Office Handout\/EPA-EFE]
\nHot and cold relations with Russia<\/p>\n![\"epa07194791](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/7607021-1695259921.jpg\")
A Russian military official walks in front of The S-400 \u2018Triumph\u2019 anti-aircraft missile system of the kind bought by Turkiye: Moscow, Russia, August 22, 2017 [Yuri Kochetkov\/EPA-EFE]
\nFriendship with Ukraine<\/p>\n\n