War in Ukraine: UN Secretary General visits Ankara before Moscow and kyiv
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (left) on November 1, 2019. © AP/Presidential Press Service
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is expected Monday, April 25 in Turkey, where he will be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The interview will be devoted to the war in Ukraine and will precede a visit by Antonio Guterres to Moscow, then to kyiv.
This Turkish step by the UN Secretary General confirms Ankara's position as a privileged intermediary between the two belligerents.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul
,
Anne Andlauer
A member of NATO and an ally of Ukraine while remaining close to Russia, Turkey has twice hosted Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, including the last meeting in Istanbul on March 29.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not hide his efforts to pursue what he called the "
Istanbul process
", and to achieve his objective: to bring together a summit of Russian and Ukrainian presidents in Turkey.
Even if Turkish officials admit that such a meeting is unlikely at this stage, Ankara believes that it has already demonstrated the effectiveness of its diplomacy and the interest of its balancing act between Ukraine and Russia, which consists in supporting the first – including by sending armed drones – while refusing to sanction the second.
The visit of the UN Secretary General to Ankara confirms, in the eyes of the Turkish leaders, their privileged position.
This weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu explained that Kyiv and Moscow were continuing to negotiate a “
comprehensive text
”.
He spoke of a “
draft joint declaration
”, discussions which “
focus on neutrality, security and guarantees
”, and assured that diplomacy continued “ behind the
scenes
”.
UN calls for 'immediate' truce in Mariupol to evacuate civilians
The UN called on Sunday for an "
immediate
" truce in Mariupol, to allow the evacuation of some 100,000 civilians still stuck in this Ukrainian port almost entirely controlled by the Russian army.
“
There needs to be a pause in the fighting right now to save lives.
The longer we wait, the more lives will be at risk.
They must be allowed to evacuate now, today.
Tomorrow will be too late
,” said UN coordinator in Ukraine Amin Awad in a statement.
kyiv had indicated earlier on Sunday that Russian forces were continuing to bombard the immense Azovstal metallurgical complex, the last pocket of resistance by Ukrainian fighters where civilians have taken refuge.
The new UN appeal comes after an evacuation attempt failed on Saturday, with the Ukrainians holding the Russians responsible for the failure.
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UN
Turkey
Russia
Ukraine
Antonio Guterres
Recep Tayyip Erdogan