At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Turkey could help mediate an end to the war.
Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, rejected the idea, stating that Erdogan could not serve as an intermediary, without giving specific reasons.
The SCO is an intergovernmental organization established by China and Russia in 2001 in Shanghai. It focuses on Eurasian political, economic, security, and defense issues. The 24th SCO meeting is taking place from July 3-4.
While Turkey is a NATO member, Erdogan has aimed to maintain positive relations with both Russia and Ukraine, previously securing a deal for safe grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports that lasted for a year.
Erdogan has previously offered to host peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. The final rounds of unsuccessful peace talks in 2022 took place in the Turkish city of Antalya.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
