Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants the Ukraine conflict to end “as soon as possible.”...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Erdogan’s declaration was based on discussions he held with Putin last week at a conference in Uzbekistan. On February 24, the Russian president launched an unprovoked war on Ukraine.
“I met with President Putin, and we had extremely in-depth conversations,” Erdogan told PBS News Hour. “And he’s genuinely demonstrating to me that he’s eager to put a stop to this as quickly as possible.”
“That was my sense, because the current state of affairs is pretty troublesome.”
On the other hand, Putin pledged Friday to pursue his onslaught on Ukraine despite the country’s current counteroffensive and warned that if Ukrainian forces target Russian sites, Moscow may increase its attacks on the country’s essential infrastructure.
Erdogan, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, stated that his only goal in Ukraine is to “finish this fight with peace.”
On the other hand, Erdogan stated that Russia must return all lands it has invaded and occupied. “The occupied areas will be restored to Ukraine.”
Erdogan stated that “the lands” should include Crimea. Erdogan, who claimed Russia’s intervention “cannot be justified,” was asked if he thought Putin would concede the attack was a mistake.
Erdogan dodged concerns about whether Putin should be held accountable for war crimes by stating the UN should investigate and publicize its conclusions.
