Turkish President Erdogan stated his desire to take part in the settlement of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine and said Turkey wanted to host a meeting between Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky.

“We will not accept unrest in the region. We want peace to prevail and we are ready to do our part.” Stressing Turkiye enjoys good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Erdogan said he will visit Kyiv and a trip to Moscow may also be a possibility.

Noting plans for US Secretary of State Blinken to meet Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Geneva, Turkish Foreign Minister said: "The dialogue between NATO and Russia, and the US and Russia, will be decisive in this matter."

Reminding that the dialogue between the West and Russia which should have started a long time ago was interrupted after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2015, Turkey's Presidential Spokesman said Turkey is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine to reduce tensions.

Pointing out that Turkiye fully supports the territorial integrity, political sovereignty and social cohesion of Ukraine, Kalin said “we are telling both sides, both Ukrainians and the Russians, to use restraint, to refrain from any kind of military engagement.”

He added that “Turkiye remains available for any role…to lower tensions between Russia and Ukraine.” “And we do this as Turkiye, as a friendly country to both Russia and Ukraine, but also as a NATO ally.”

Referring to Montreux Convention of 1936, Turkish Defense Minister stressed the importance of dialogue in Black Sea and said Turkey continues its dialogue with Russia and Ukraine and will fulfill its NATO obligation.

"The status of the straits (regarding the rules on the passage of ships of the Black Sea and non-Black Sea countries) set by the convention benefits all parties. In the current circumstances, there is no question of abandoning this convention."

"We will continue our dialogue with Russia and Ukraine and we will fulfill our NATO obligations." "We, as Turkey, urge all parties concerned to remain calm and engage in coordination, cooperation and dialogue"

During a visit by a Ukrainian parliamentary delegation, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament reiterated Turkey’s stance on doing whatever necessary to resolve the crisis through peaceful means.

Expressing support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity & political independence, he praised the current $7,3 billion in bilateral trade & underlined the goal of $10 billion. He reiterated Turkish position not to recognize illegal annexation of Crimea.

President Erdoğan during his visit to Kyiv: Turkey is "prepared to undertake its part in order to end the crisis between two friendly nations that are its neighbors in the Black Sea." #UkraineCrisis

"I have stressed that we would be happy to host a summit meeting at a leadership level or technical level talks" "Instead of fueling the fire, we act with the logical aim of reducing the tensions" #UkraineCrisis

“We sincerely believe that the crisis will be resolved within the framework of the Minsk agreements on the basis of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and international law by peaceful and diplomatic means.”

“We reviewed at our talks the situation of our kinsmen, particularly the Crimean Tatars who form a historical bridge of friendship between our countries.”