Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, made an official visit to Moscow, where he held a series of important diplomatic meetings with Russian colleagues
This visit became one of the key stages in Ankara’s efforts to facilitate the search for ways to end the armed conflict in Ukraine, which has been ongoing for over a year and is causing widespread destruction and human losses. As part of the visit, Fidan met with Vladimir Medinsky, who is responsible for negotiation activities on the Russian side. According to diplomatic sources, this meeting took place in Moscow and was one of the main events during his visit. It is known that the Turkish Foreign Minister and the advisor to the Russian President discussed not only bilateral issues but also prospects for resolving the conflict, which has divided the European continent for more than a year. An official spokesperson of Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Hakan Fidan met in Moscow with Vladimir Medinsky, advisor to the President of Russia," confirming Ankara’s serious intentions to leverage its diplomatic capabilities in this direction. Furthermore, it was planned that during this visit, the head of Turkey’s diplomacy would also meet with senior Russian officials — President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This combination of negotiations indicates the strategic importance of these meetings for both sides and signifies a breakthrough in the search for diplomatic solutions to the conflict. Turning to recent events, it is worth recalling that the first dialogue in the Ukrainian-Russian negotiation format in over three years took place on May 16 in Istanbul. Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their first serious talks there, and one of the first accomplishments was an agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war. This was one of the most significant and concrete outcomes of this initial meeting, which paradoxically manifested a search for compromise amid extreme tensions. Unfortunately, a significant part of the Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, put forward in Istanbul a number of unacceptable conditions for Ukraine, which reduced the chances of quickly achieving long-term peace. Since then, the diplomatic process has complicated, but Hakan Fidan’s visit offers renewed hope that diplomacy can keep the situation under control and provide a new impetus for negotiations. Overall, this visit promotes the preservation and strengthening of Turkey’s role as a mediator in the conflict, which continues to try to balance diplomatic efforts and support its strategic interests, especially in the context of efforts to stabilize the situation and seek a peaceful resolution. However, not all issues have been resolved yet, and many experts emphasize that achieving lasting peace requires a comprehensive and long-term approach involving all interested parties.