ROME: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that he expects a clear picture of the war in Ukraine by spring, as shelling and clashes continued and the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to negotiations.
Ukraine is retaking some of their occupied territories as a result of their advancing on the ground. Russia is targeting civilian infrastructure in return. Cavusoglu said at a forum in Rome that life is getting difficult for Ukrainians and for all of us.
I think we will have a clear picture about the ceasefire or negotiation table before the spring. We will not give up. As Turkey, we will continue our efforts, Cavusoglu said.
The fighting on the ground got more complicated with Russia's war against Ukraine getting more complicated, Cavusoglu said. Some Western countries should do more to get two sides to the negotiation table.
Putin was open to negotiations on Ukraine but the West must accept Moscow's demands, a Kremlin said on Friday, after US President Joe Biden said he was willing to talk if Putin was looking for a way to end the war.
After more than nine months of fighting and with winter tightening its grip, Western countries are trying to boost aid for Ukraine as Russian missile and drone attacks target key energy infrastructure that have left millions without heating, electricity and water.
In eastern Ukraine, fighting is raging, while Russian forces in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions remain on the defensive.