NATO should be focused on Ukraine ceasefire, not just sanctions, Turkey says

NATO leaders should be focused on securing a cease-fire in Ukraine, not just on sanctions against Russia and deterrence, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday.

"Everyone's first aim should be a ceasefire, it should be to stop the war,'' Çavuşoğlu told Turkish journalists on the side lines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Pakistan, Daily Sabah reported on Wednesday.

“Everyone should act responsibly and constructively,” he said.

NATO leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Ukraine.

“We will address the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence in response to a new reality for our security,” NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said.

“Of course, we need to show unity and solidarity within NATO, we need to show deterrence. But who is paying the price of the ongoing war?” Çavuşoğlu said.

Turkey was pressing on with its efforts as a “mediator and facilitator” to end the fighting and was in touch with negotiators on both sides, Çavuşoğlu said.

The Turkish government has declared support for Ukraine by calling on Russia to respect its
territorial integrity. While being a NATO member, it is attempting to maintain the good relations that it has fostered with Moscow in recent years and is refraining from imposing sanctions on Russia.

Turkey is among the countries seeking to act as a mediator to end the war in Ukraine. Two weeks ago, Çavuşoğlu hosted a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in the resort city of Antalya.