On March 10, 2022, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in Antalya to mediate between the warring countries. After the meeting, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said that talks between the top diplomats of Russia and Ukraine produced no breakthrough on ending the war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. Both parties, however, agreed to continue efforts to seek a solution to the humanitarian situation on the ground.
As of March 15, 2022, Türkiye had evacuated over 15,000 citizens from Ukraine since Russia began the war on Ukraine.
On July 22, 2022, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports. The deal came after a general agreement was reached between the parties on an UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul on July 13, 2022 to form a coordination centre to carry out joint inspections at the entrance and exit of the harbours, and to ensure the safety of the routes. On October 29, 2022, Russia announced that it withdrew from the grain corridor agreement following a drone attack on Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol. On November 2, 2022, Russia re-joined the agreement, reserving its right to withdraw. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not impede shipments of grain from Ukraine to Türkiye; in the event that it withdraws from the agreement again.
On August 5, 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 4-hour meeting in Sochi to discuss bilateral ties, regional and international issues. In a joint statement after the wide-ranging meeting, the two leaders confirmed that the constructive relations between Ankara and Moscow played a role in reaching last month’s historic deal on the safe transportation of grain and food products from Ukrainian ports.
On September 30, 2022, Russia announced the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, following purported referenda in those regions. On the same date, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Türkiye issued a press release in which it rejected the legitimacy of the annexations, called them a “grave violation of international law” and called for continued negotiations to end the
conflict.
On November 17, 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the Black Sea Grain Initiative had been extended for 120 days beginning November 19, 2022, in accordance with the resolution taken as a result of the quadrilateral talks hosted by Türkiye. Many countries and international bodies, including the United Nations and the European Union, praised Ankara for its commitment to extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative in line with the decision taken between Türkiye, the United Nations, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
Iraq & Syria
Turkish armed forces continue to carry out their military activities against terrorist organizations as needed in order to ensure the security of the Turkish people and the country’s borders. The most recent operation by the Turkish armed forces, Operation Claw-Sword, was launched, in part as a response to the recent terrorist attack in Istanbul, on November 20, 2022 in order to prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq and Syria and to ensure border security.
According to the joint resolution by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and Ministry of Interior, numbered 2022/4 and published in the Official Gazette dated December 1, 2022, it was decided to freeze the assets of several individuals and entities linked to the DAESH terrorist organization.
On December 28, 2022, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met with his Russian and Syrian counterparts in Moscow. Minister Akar said that the ministers discussed what could be done to improve the situation in Syria and the region as soon as possible, while ensuring peace, tranquility and stability. Minister Akar also added that during the meeting Türkiye emphasized that it respected the territorial integrity and sovereignty rights of all its neighbors, especially Syria and Iraq, and that its sole aim was the fight against terrorism, to neutralize PKK/YPG and DAESH terrorists which were a threat to Syria as well and there was no other purpose.
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