During a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reaffirmed that Türkiye will continue its work toward peace in multiple regional crises, including Ukraine, Syria, and the Middle East. The conversation, confirmed by both the Turkish Presidency and the Kremlin, comes amid escalating global tensions and renewed diplomatic efforts to de-escalate conflicts where Ankara has positioned itself as a mediator.
According to a readout from the Turkish Communications Directorate, Erdoğan emphasized Türkiye’s “unwavering commitment to dialogue” and highlighted its role in facilitating the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ongoing prisoner exchanges between Kyiv and Moscow. Putin, in turn, expressed appreciation for Türkiye’s “balanced stance” and discussed cooperation on energy and regional security, particularly in northern Syria.
In Ankara’s Çankaya district, where foreign ministry officials shuttle between crisis rooms and secure phone lines, diplomats describe a deliberate strategy: not neutrality, but active mediation. “We talk to everyone even when others won’t,” said a senior Turkish official who requested anonymity due to protocol. That approach has allowed Türkiye to host talks between warring Libyan factions, maintain trade with both Russia and NATO allies, and keep open channels with Kyiv despite purchasing Russian S-400 missile systems a balancing act few nations attempt, let alone sustain.
Demir noted that Erdoğan’s message to Putin aligns with Türkiye’s broader foreign policy doctrine of “strategic autonomy.” While Western capitals often view mediation through the lens of alignment, Ankara frames it as national interest: stability on its borders, economic corridors intact, and regional influence preserved. The call also touched on Gaza, with Erdoğan urging Russia to support humanitarian access a subtle reminder that Türkiye’s peace efforts span continents.
Yet this role carries risk. Critics accuse Ankara of opportunism; allies question its reliability. But on the ground, the impact is tangible: Ukrainian grain still flows through the Bosphorus, Syrian refugees find cautious hope in cross-border aid corridors, and prisoner families receive calls they thought they’d never get. At Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a shopkeeper who lost relatives in both the 1980 coup and the 2016 coup attempt put it simply: “Let them talk. Every minute they’re on the phone is a minute no bombs fall.”
As global alliances harden into blocs, Türkiye’s insistence on dialogue however imperfect offers a fragile but vital alternative. In a world racing toward division, Erdoğan’s message to Putin wasn’t just diplomacy; it was a quiet declaration that some nations still believe peace is possible, not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary.
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