Despite the war and the restrictions on direct contacts, Ankara is trying to maintain an active parliamentary dialogue with Kyiv. Türkiye consistently supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea. In addition, Türkiye continuously expresses that it is ready to act as a mediator in the peace process between Ukraine and Russia in order to ensure a just and lasting peace. However, in this process, the impact of the Turkish parliament remains limited to a certain extent.

In an interview given to Ukrinform, Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş, Chairman of the Türkiye-Ukraine Friendship Group of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, in addition to these issues, also evaluated the current state and prospects of Ukraine–Türkiye relations, interparliamentary cooperation between Kyiv and Ankara, the impact of the war on the intensity of contacts, the possibilities of Türkiye’s mediation initiatives, the attitude of Turkish political circles towards the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as the situation of the Crimean Tatars and the issue of political prisoners in occupied Crimea.

Question: Mr. Chairman, relations between Türkiye and Ukraine continue to develop at the level of a strategic partnership. At the same time, interparliamentary relations are also developing within these relations. In particular, the Ukrainian parliament has been visiting Türkiye quite frequently recently. In this context, what is the current level of cooperation between the parliaments of Ukraine and Türkiye? What are the outputs of this cooperation?

Answer: As you have also pointed out, Türkiye and Ukraine have had relations in the fields of politics, economy, and diplomacy for quite a long time. However, due to the conflicts that started with Russia’s recent occupation and that have since continued mostly on Ukrainian territory, these have been somewhat hindered.

They have been interrupted. Because there have been restrictions on these comings and goings. Our friends from Ukraine, kindly, are coming from this interparliamentary friendship group.

However, in the meantime, for the last years, it has not been possible for us to make visits. The reason for that is the absence of direct flights; it is necessary to travel via Moldova or Poland. They did not consider this suitable for one-day trip.

Most recently, a visit was planned for the anniversary of the war. However, at that time there were again conflicts. Therefore, we postponed it to a later time.

But this does not mean that we have no contact or that we do not participate in joint activities. Many people, both from Ukraine and from the Crimean Tatars, our friends and our brothers, come to visit us. Our shortcoming in the last 1–2 years is that we have not been able to go. We will do that at the first opportunity, we will make up for it.

Question: There is no schedule set for this visit at the moment. Is that right?

Answer: No, we had planned it for the anniversary of the war, we were planning to go. However, when there was again tension and conflict there, they said let us leave it for later. Therefore, we also postponed it.

TÜRKİYE’S MEDIATION EFFORTS ARE UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, NOT THE PARLIAMENT

Question: There are many mediation initiatives and diplomacy efforts regarding the Russia–Ukraine war. Türkiye also occupies an important place among them. At the same time, the concept of parliamentary diplomacy is also quite popular in the world and makes itself talked about. In the context of this situation, is a functioning of parliamentary diplomacy possible? Could it have more concrete outputs?

Answer: It is not like that. First of all, the mediation efforts carried out under the leadership of the President of Türkiye, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are being conducted by our Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the reason for this is that Türkiye has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine.

But unfortunately, we do not have such a connection in parliamentary diplomacy. At the same time, I am also the head of the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In the past, Russia was also there in the Council of Europe.

We used to have contacts with them on many different platforms. However, with the occupation of Crimea, since it was considered a behavior contrary to the fundamental principles there in the Council of Europe, they decided to remove Russia. Russia also withdrew itself. Thus, Russia is not represented in the Council of Europe either.

But as I mentioned earlier, our contact continues with the deputies in Ukraine, both with our Crimean Tatar deputy friends and with Ukrainian deputies. For mediation, it is necessary to have contact with both sides. But we do not have it with Russia.

STATEMENTS OF THE NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION ON CRIMEA REDUCED RUSSIA’S MOTIVATION FOR NEGOTIATIONS

Question: Recently, Türkiye hosted the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Could, for example, a similar environment be formed there?

Answer: Now, the problem there is this. Countries outside this region, strong countries or let us say countries that have more say in the United Nations. Their approaches are important.

After the election in the USA, the Trump administration came to power. When they came to power, the new Secretary of State appointed by Trump, Marco Rubio, while the issue of Russia and Ukraine was being discussed, said that by giving the dates after the occupation of Crimea, it is not possible to go back to before that.

Now, this is a big deficiency, a big concession. After America said this, there is no meaning left in negotiating with Russia. The world looks at it as America having a say among the countries representing the Western world or let us say Europe, NATO. Russia also looks at it that way. When Marco Rubio comes out and says it is not possible to go back to before 2014, what does this mean? It means after occupying Crimea, Russia says let us talk about the rest. These are our problems.

We still, as Türkiye, do not accept the annexation of Crimea and we see Crimea as a part of Ukraine. Exactly at this point, as we have referred to, as it is known, Türkiye did not recognize this occupation. From the first day until today, it still has not recognized it.

Especially at the level of the President, at the level of all ministers, whatever position is related to the executive, it has clearly stated that it does not recognize this occupation. This approach of America further encouraged Russia on the issue of Crimea.

BOTH THE RULING AND OPPOSITION PARTIES SUPPORT THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND SOVEREIGNTY OF UKRAINE

Question: If we come to the parliamentary side, what is the general consolidation in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye regarding Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including Crimea, within the legislative body today?

Answer: It is like this, there are political parties in Türkiye that are interested in this issue, or there are political parties that are only interested in their own issues. Since they do not have an interest in this matter, I do not think they have an opinion either.

But in the remaining parties, whether ruling or opposition, everyone is in favor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Whether it is the İYİ Party in the opposition, the Republican People’s Party, the parties of the People’s Alliance, the MHP, and we as the AK Party, we all share the same view. This already constitutes almost the entirety of Türkiye. Yes, there are one or two other parties, but they only talk about their own issues.

So, the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye also has the same unity of opinion regarding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the annexation of Crimea.

Question: Apart from the mediation issues you mentioned, Türkiye has contributions in quite different areas in this process as well. For example, the issue of the Azov commanders and the release of political prisoners in Crimea. However, no matter what, these appeared as individual examples. Whereas especially in Crimea today there are many political prisoners, there are Ukrainian children abducted to Russia due to the issue of the war. At this point, can Türkiye expand its activities? Even if it cannot stop the war, can freedom be achieved at least at the point of these exchanges?

Answer: There are certain difficulties. A short time ago, the Chairman of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, Refat Chubarov, kindly honored us with his presence here, and we also had a conversation here. The problem is that Russia says about the people in Crimea, “this is my citizen”, and does not subject them to a separate treatment. But regarding those from the Crimean Tatars in Crimea who are prisoners, who are in prison, who are in detention, a negotiation is not possible.

Question: In general, is this shown as the only reason when you convey this issue to your possible Russian counterparts?

Answer: “They are our citizens, you cannot interfere with us” in quotation marks. I am not in the negotiation team, but I convey as much as I follow. There is a situation that has a special position in Türkiye-Ukraine relations, the situation of the Crimean Tatars, their existence, rather not only their situation.

THE SITUATION OF THE CRIMEAN TATARS IN CRIMEA SADDER AND MORE CONCERNS TÜRKIYE

Question: At this point, recently the Crimean Tatar National Assembly was recognized as the sole representative body of the Crimean Tatars in Ukraine. And Türkiye attaches importance to these issues. What is Türkiye’s position on this matter, how do we look at this issue, what are the developments?

Answer: We support the decisions taken there. It is technically not possible for us to produce a separate policy on these matters. Ukraine is a sovereign country, and the Crimean Tatars are also a part of the Ukrainian people. As with many other groups, it is not our place to tell them do this or do that. Türkiye never tends to give such an opinion. But we make efforts in the implementation of the decisions they take there, and for their being heard and promoted in the international arena.

Question: So what would you say about the presence of the Crimean Tatars in the development of these relations? What kind of a «bridge» do they form in Türkiye-Ukraine relations?

Answer: Unlike many other countries, of course they are our kin. When you say Crimean Tatars, they are a part of the Turkish communities. Their being there, and more importantly their victimization, saddens us more and concerns us more. Compared to those living in another place in the world, in another country, this draws our attention more. There are also kinship ties. A part of those families is in Türkiye. A part of the family is here, a part is in Crimea. After that, for that reason, of course Crimea is one of our priority areas of interest.

Question: You referred to it earlier. Mr. Refat Çubarov had met with you in recent days. You mentioned one topic, but could we get more information regarding the content of your meeting?

Answer: We evaluated the latest developments. We discussed the issue of these detainees. We evaluated such current issues. Most of the time, there is our co-chair of the friendship group, Ahtem Çıygoz. He also comes. Mustafa Kırımoğlu is already an elder of all of us, a person we all respect. From time to time we meet with them. Even if not in Ankara, we also meet in Istanbul. They come whenever they find the opportunity. Their coming makes us happy. We receive firsthand news from the field thanks to them. We receive correct information, we receive it unfiltered. That also enables us to act more objectively in evaluating the issues. We do not act with incorrect information here.

THE WAR HINDERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS, HOWEVER TÜRKIYE WILL ALWAYS STAND BY UKRAINE

Question: So, if we speak about Türkiye-Ukraine relations, what can we say about the course of relations today? For example, are there potential areas of development in your opinion?

Answer: There always are. Previously, there have always been works together with Ukraine in many areas, from the defense industry to food. There are Turkish companies there, there are Ukrainian companies doing business with here. There are in many areas of the defense industry. There are things that can be said in such conversations. There are things that should not be said, but there is a lot of cooperation. This war, of course, created quite a lot of difficulties. There has been a shrinkage in volumes. But after this war ends, they will revive again in other sectors as well. First of all, there is only the Black Sea in between. Geographically, when you board a plane from Ankara, it does not exceed one and a half hours. You land in Kyiv or to other places as well, there were flights of Turkish Airlines and Ukrainian airlines. In one day, it was possible to go and come back from Ankara with two or three flights. This is a great advantage. After that, there are ship voyages. It was easy to move in the Black Sea. But the war is currently preventing many things.

Question: What could be Türkiye’s function after this war? For example, it is very clear that Ukrainian cities are being struck by Russia and Ukraine has a need for reconstruction. At this point, what could be Türkiye’s function?

Answer: Türkiye provides everything that Ukraine needs. It depends on their preferences. Of course, the whole world desires Ukraine’s recovery and development again. They will also have their assistance. But Türkiye, in everything necessary, will stand by Ukraine. Türkiye will always stand by Ukraine.

Olga Budnyk, Ankara

Photos provided by the author