Turkey's FM Fidan to visit Moscow for Ukraine, Black Sea talks

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Moscow this week for discussions that will include Turkey's ongoing offer to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. The visit comes ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey and follows a request from Kyiv in April for Ankara to host a leaders' level meeting. During his meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, Fidan is expected to warn against further escalation in the Black Sea and reiterate Turkey's proposal for a limited ceasefire focused on ports and energy infrastructure. Both Ukraine and Russia have recently accused each other of drone attacks on tankers near Turkey's coast. A Ukrainian official indicated that Kyiv would welcome an offer from Turkey to host bilateral talks, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made multiple times. The Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara also recently stated Kyiv's desire for deeper ties with Turkey, including joint defense industry production. Additionally, Fidan's agenda includes discussing developments in the South Caucasus, particularly in light of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent election victory and ongoing peace deal negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which could facilitate Turkey's normalization with Armenia. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Monday that Russia is committed to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposals to end the war in Ukraine, and is eager to hear from Trump's envoys how peace agreements would be implemented. Lavrov added that Europeans are trying to impose their mediation services on Russia and are mistaken in assuming Russia is losing the war.