Ankara believes increasing pressure on Russia useless

Ankara should maintain a delicate diplomatic balance between Moscow and Kyiv, and it would be useless to increase pressure on Russia in order to "punish".

This was stated by the official representative of the President of the Republic İbrahim Kalın  in an interview with Reuters.

"Turkey should maintain a delicate diplomatic balance after Russia's invasion of Ukraine so that it can contribute to a possible end to the war through negotiations. Although Ankara criticizes Moscow's invasion and its actions on the battlefield, it would be useless to take a more "punitive" position against Russia," the agency quotes Kalın as saying.

"We have opposed this war from the very beginning. They need someone — a reliable partner, negotiator, facilitator, moderator - who holds a position to talk with both the Russian side and the Ukrainian side. We have been able to maintain this position since the very beginning of the war, and I think it is really in the common interest for everyone to adhere to a balanced position," Kalın added.