Certain aspects of Turkiye-Ukraine relations prevent Ankara from being a full-fledged mediator in the conflict resolution process.

Axar.az reports that this was stated by Rodion Miroshnik, Special Envoy of the Russian Foreign Ministry for crimes of the Kyiv regime, during his visit to Ankara, organized by the "Russian House." in an interview with a TASS.

"You see, there are certain criteria for parties that seek to take on a mediating or peacekeeping role. At the very least, they should not be financing projects initiated by the Kyiv regime. This nuance is quite significant and does not align with Turkiye’s aspiration to act as a peacekeeper. Economic cooperation, military, or military-technical support are unacceptable factors for a mediator between the parties.

Therefore, it is clear that we cannot approve of such actions by Turkiye. However, Turkiye, of course, is guided by its own views on the situation," Miroshnik noted.

At the same time, he noted that Russia "is in dialogue with Turkiye" :

"Again, the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister (Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in Ankara on February 24) shows that our countries maintain fairly close relations. It is not for me to criticize Turkiye’s policy, but we believe that the proposals currently coming from our side [regarding the Ukrainian settlement] are much more pragmatic for Turkiye and better serve its national interests," Miroshnik stated.

He added that Moscow "appreciates Turkiye’s position and actions from three years ago when the republic provided a platform for finding solutions." "If an agreement had been signed in Istanbul back then, hundreds of thousands of lives—primarily on the Ukrainian side—could have been saved. Now, let [Volodymyr] Zelensky explain to his people why that didn’t happen," the envoy said.

The diplomat expressed hope that "maintaining dialogue with Turkiye will lead to mutually acceptable solutions."