Turkey is in favor of continuing negotiations between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Ankara on Thursday.
"We are in favor of continuing the dialogue between Russia and NATO. NATO, in particular, has requested the return of Russia's permanent representative [to NATO]. Steps to reduce tensions are coming to the forefront. We are managing the crisis," the Turkish minister asserted.
He also recalled that Ankara was ready to host a meeting in the Minsk format and "is ready to support the Minsk process in every possible way."
Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey and Russia "intensively held contacts at the bilateral level." "There was a discussion in January about [a possible] visit of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin [to Turkey] at the invitation of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. The date of the meeting may become clear after Putin's trip to the Beijing Olympics," he believes.
Earlier Thursday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin's visit to Turkey will take place when the epidemiological situation and the schedules of the two presidents allow.
The United States and NATO on Wednesday handed Russia written responses to proposals on security guarantees that Moscow is demanding from Washington and Brussels. The US side asked that the texts of these documents not be made public, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg listed their main points. According to these statements, the West made no concessions in principle for Russia, but outlined directions for further negotiations.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS