Moscow is definitely looking for to finish the hostilities as “as soon as possible,” the Turkish president believes
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is set to drag on for a “long time,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has mentioned. Moscow is definitely among the many events looking for to finish the hostilities as quickly as doable, he argued.
Erdogan made the remarks in an interview with American broadcaster PBS that aired on Monday. The president was requested about a current assembly together with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and whether or not the latter believed Moscow was “winning that war.”
The Turkish chief mentioned the pair didn’t talk about the conflict by way of who was profitable. He mentioned, nevertheless, that Russia was really looking for a speedy decision to the hostilities, which have been dragging on since February 2022.
“It’s quite obvious that this war is going to last a long time. And for the war to end as soon as possible, we would like to be very hopeful. And Mr. Putin is actually on the side of ending this war as soon as possible,” Erdogan mentioned. “That’s what [Putin] said. And I believe his remarks,” he added.
Erdogan expressed doubts that Russia will ever “withdraw” from Crimea, revealing he had sure “deliberations” with Putin again in 2014 on the matter. The peninsula broke away from Kiev within the aftermath of the Maidan coup and was included into Russia following a referendum.
“I couldn’t make them withdraw from Crimea. I think it’s not going to be possible for the time being either. I think time will only tell,” Erdogan said.
Over the course of the conflict, high Ukrainian officers have repeatedly pledged to expel Russian forces from all of Ukraine’s former territories. In addition to Crimea, this consists of Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, all of which had been additionally included into Russia after referendums final fall.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled that it considers the matter closed and that the brand new territorial actuality have to be acknowledged.
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