In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken on the role of peace broker.
On March 29, the first meeting was held in Istanbul, attended by representatives of both parties.
One of the reasons why Turkey in particular became a mediator in the war is that the country has a relationship with both Russia and Ukraine.
Turkey is also a NATO country and thus becomes an important party.
That's what Jan Eliasson says, who himself has several years of experience in mediating in conflicts.
He has met Erdogan several times and sees him as a very dominant person.
- He takes over a room immediately and he has managed to get the Russians and Ukrainians together, it is quite special.
The opportunities for peace have deteriorated
At the same time, the prospects for the negotiations have become gloomier since the suspected war crimes from the Russian side were discovered last week.
- For the Ukrainian government, it is now becoming increasingly difficult to make concessions given the abominations that have taken place.
For the Russians, the political language has become increasingly twisted and nationalistic and there are no signs that they are prepared to back down.
The relationship is important
In recent years, relations between Turkey and Russia have been strained at times.
In November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian plane that was on Turkish territory.
They have also been on different sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
- But Erdogan's personality probably coincides with Putin's, and they have a fairly close relationship, says Jan Eliasson.
Click on the clip to hear more from Jan Eliasson and see more in the Foreign Office: Fredsmäklaren tonight on SVT Play 19.30 or in SVT2 at 22.00