Turkey backs U.S. initiative on Ukraine ceasefire, although it will be “hard to digest”

Reuters reported the information.

Fidan emphasized that Turkey supports the U.S. initiative to end the war in Ukraine, but noted that the parties are still a "little bit far away" from reaching any agreement.

"It will be extremely difficult to digest any proposal," he said. "But when we look at the other option, which is more death and destruction, I think whatever the conditions that we have... will be more reasonable" than the alternative.

Regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, Fidan emphasized that Europe cannot provide them on its own without the U.S. support. He added that a strong deterrent mechanism is needed to prevent the resumption of hostilities.

"There is a huge effort to get the American side again to engage in security support to Ukraine," he said, referring to recent talks among European states.

Fidan also stressed that all parties, including Russia, must respect any final agreement in order to achieve lasting peace.

The Turkish Foreign Minister reiterated Turkey’s readiness to once again host Russia and Ukraine for potential peace talks following the first round of negotiations in 2022.

• Canada and European countries allied with Ukraine have urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to immediately respond to the U.S. proposal for a partial ceasefire, which Kyiv has accepted unconditionally.