Confidence-building measures between Russia and Ukraine are "going well," Turkey's foreign minister said Monday.
"The confidence-building measures, like exchanging war prisoners, have also been going well. We have also been mediating to that end," said Mevlut Cavusoglu at a panel during the 17th Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia.
Underlining that there have been "terrible wars in the history within Europe, between Turks and some Europeans," Cavusoglu said such times were now over and that "true friendship in Europe" has blossomed.
"So, this war, today or tomorrow, earlier or later, will be over. We don't know how long it will take," he said, inquiring whether lessons would be learned.
Citing the meetings between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkish cities of Antalya and Istanbul earlier this year, Cavusoglu said things have since changed and that it was "not that easy" to reach a negotiated solution.
The Turkish minister continued by affirming that Ankara is engaged in separate and ongoing dialogue with both Kyiv and Moscow, adding that his country has "good relations, of course, with both Russia and Ukraine."
"Meanwhile, of course, we have a principled stance and we are supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity. We are providing support, maybe more than many other NATO allies, to Ukraine. And at the same time, we are also in dialogue with Russia, and that dialogue has been bearing fruits," Cavusoglu said, adding that such dialogue was the reason why July's historic deal that secured Ukrainian grain exports had worked.
Turkey, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were halted due to the situation in Ukraine. Since the first ship left Ukraine under the deal on Aug. 1, 56 ships with at least 1.3 million tons of agricultural products have left ports, according to Cavusoglu.
