Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has expressed hope that Thursday's peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul might pave the way for a fresh start between the two warring sides.
“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Hakan Fidan said in his welcoming speech at the opening of an informal NATO foreign ministers meeting.
Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold direct peace talks in Istanbul — the first in nearly two years — with Türkiye once again playing host and mediator.
“The talks in Istanbul, hopefully, may open a new chapter,” Fidan said.
Fidan also stressed the need to establish a security network across NATO stretching from the US state of Texas to the Turkish capital, Ankara.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says Türkiye has good relations with all relevant partners and is seen as a serious mediator.
Speaking to reporters on day two of the informal NATO meeting, Fidan stressed the many significant developments unfolding in the Euro-Atlantic region.
"As allied partners, today we will have important discussions ranging from how to manage defence burden-sharing, how to strengthen our defence industry base, and how to bring peace to Ukraine.”
The allies will focus on strengthening defence cooperation and advancing efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, he said.
Fidan added that the meeting would also lay the groundwork for June’s NATO summit set to be held in The Hague.
With diplomacy unfolding simultaneously in Antalya and Istanbul, Türkiye is asserting itself not only as a key NATO ally but as a diplomatic hub with increasing influence over the resolution of international conflicts.
Fidan also emphasised that Türkiye will continue to play a crucial role in European security.
“As NATO's second-largest military, Türkiye will continue to play a crucial role in the European security architecture through its military capabilities and defence industry infrastructure,” Fidan said.
He underlined that the discussions in Antalya reaffirmed NATO’s leading role in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture, adding that Europe’s security cannot be considered separately from NATO.
“In such a period, our expectation is that all steps in the field of security should be taken without unnecessary repetition, divergence, or detachment from NATO,” Fidan said, adding that they raised these issues in both alliance-wide meetings and bilateral talks.
