Erdogan will persuade Zelenskyy to freeze war and deploy peacekeepers - Bloomberg

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will propose to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to create a demilitarized zone in the Donetsk Region in order to deploy international troops there.

This was reported by Bloomberg on Monday, November 18, citing sources close to Erdogan.

The Turkish President will propose to deploy an international mission as an additional guarantee to Ukraine for Ukraine to postpone discussions on joining NATO for 10 years.

"The Turkish proposal involves the creation of a demilitarized zone in eastern Donbas in Ukraine, where russia has controlled large areas of territory since 2014. Erdogan will propose to deploy international troops there as an additional guarantee, and Ukraine will be assured of military supplies to compensate for its agreement to remain outside NATO," the material says.

Turkish officials admit that it will be difficult for Ukraine to accept such a proposal, but they consider this approach the most realistic, the publication writes. First of all, a stable ceasefire and discussions on the long-term prospects of the occupied territories are needed, Turkish officials believe.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said that these details are not accurate. According to him, Turkey "supports initiatives to end the war." Bloomberg notes that such a formula may appeal to some of Kyiv's allies, who admit that Ukraine's full membership in NATO could lead to a direct conflict with the aggressor country of russia.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on March 19, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that there are no prerequisites for ending russia's war against Ukraine this year.

On September 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country would step up diplomatic efforts and dialogue to end the war in Ukraine.

On November 3, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that a just solution to the "Ukrainian conflict" must be achieved provided that Ukraine's territorial integrity is preserved.