A favorite resort of Russian tourists can become a starting point to the peace

On March 11-13, Ankara will host the second Diplomatic Forum (ADF) on the topic “Recoding Diplomacy” in Antalya, Turkey, a favorite venue for Russian and Ukrainian tourists.

The forum will be held under the auspices of the President of the Republic Recep Tayyip Erdogan and will be organized by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Twelve heads of state, 15 leaders, including three heads of government, 67 ministers, six deputy ministers and secretaries of 44 regional and international organizations are expected to attend, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

On March 10, negotiations were announced at the forum of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Ukraine Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Kuleb, mediated by the head of Turkish diplomacy Mevlut Cavusoglu. “The meeting will take place with my participation. We have made great efforts to organize it,” the Turkish minister said.

This will be the first direct talks between Lavrov and Kuleb since the war in Ukraine, and they have a cautious chance of success for three reasons. First, both sides have good relations with Turkey and have repeatedly indicated their willingness to accept its mediation. Since the beginning of Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has been trying to play a mediating role, its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken on the phone with the presidents of the two countries and stated that he is ready to organize a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and supplies it with weapons, but at the same time refuses to impose sanctions against Russia.

Secondly, the Antalya meeting is preceded by the dialogue that has begun at the official level between Kiev and Moscow, three rounds of which had progressive positives, and first of all, in the humanitarian sphere.

And finally, thirdly, the war takes on a protracted, deeply destructive character, in which neither Moscow nor Kyiv can be interested.

It is possible that the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan will also join the talks. President Aliyev will be in Antalya on March 10. Baku and Ankara discussed ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis the day before. On March 5, Cavusoglu visited Baku, where he consulted with Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayrmov.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are pursuing a coordinated foreign policy in the international arena, coordinating their steps, was announced at the joint final press conference of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries Jeyhun Bayramov and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

 “These events (Ukrainian-ed.) cause very serious concern, Azerbaijan and Turkey are very active in the search for ways to resolve the conflict, maintain active contacts with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. We hope that the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev will yield results,” Bayramov said.

“We are against violent changes in the borders of states and we are against the war in Ukraine. We are taking steps to end this war,” Cavusogu said.