Türkiye ready for dialogue on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine

The Turkish Defense Ministry has said that Ankara was ready to discuss its contribution to the possible dispatch of a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine if it helps stability in the region.

“Ankara's possible contribution to the mission, which has not yet been conceptualized and is being discussed in various media, will be mutually discussed with all parties if it is deemed necessary to ensure regional stability and peace,” the ministry said, Caliber.Az reports.

The ministry said it, together with other Turkish government agencies, is monitoring diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.

The Turkish side has previously announced its openness to providing troops for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Relevant discussion took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during separate meetings in Ankara in February.

However, the deployment of peacekeepers faces challenges, including a lack of consensus among European nations and opposition from Russia. The Kremlin has publicly opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine.

By Khagan Isayev