Türkiye pins hope on Trump to end Ukraine conflict

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed hope that US President-elect Donald Trump will make an effort to end the Ukraine conflict. He made the statement on Wednesday while congratulating the Republican on his victory over Kamala Harris.

In a post on X, Erdogan said Türkiye-US relations would be strengthened during Trump’s new term, describing him as a “friend.”

“I hope that regional and global crises and wars, especially the Palestinian issue and the Russia-Ukraine war, will come to an end; I believe that more efforts will be made for a fairer world,” wrote the Turkish president.

In his celebratory speech on Wednesday, Trump stated that he was “not going to start a war” but rather “stop wars.”

During his election campaign, the Republican candidate claimed that the hostilities between Ukraine and Russia would not have escalated in February 2022 if he had been in office at the time. He vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours if re-elected.

After the escalation of the conflict two years ago, Türkiye, a NATO member, acted as a mediator between Kiev and Moscow. Peace talks were held in Istanbul in March 2022 with a view to ending the conflict, which culminated in a draft treaty. If implemented, Ukraine would have agreed to become a neutral nation with a limited army in exchange for international security guarantees.

Shortly after the document was signed, Kiev made a U-turn and declared military victory over Moscow as its only option in the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that the West had blocked the deal with the aim of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.

Speaking to Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan in July, Erdogan said he believed a fair peace suiting both Moscow and Kiev was possible, and that Ankara could help to end the conflict.

Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a “fair” settlement of the conflict could only be based on respecting the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine.

Kiev has long insisted on regaining control of the regions that were incorporated into Russia after referendums, namely Crimea, Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia has stated that the status of the regions was not debatable.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Ankara’s approach “perplexing,” noting that Türkiye was supplying weapons to Ukraine while proclaiming its readiness to act as a mediator.