Turkish FM’s Moscow visit to include talks on South Caucasus – Reuters

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during an upcoming visit to Russia, will discuss developments in the South Caucasus, among other international topics, Reuters reported citing a diplomatic source.

The South Caucasus will be discussed after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won elections this month, and as Yerevan works with Azerbaijan on a peace deal that may speed up Türkiye’s normalisation with Armenia, according to Reuters.

Also, Fidan will repeat Türkiye’s offer to host talks between Russia and Ukraine on the visit to Moscow this week, at which he will also discuss Black Sea shipping safety. 

The visit on Tuesday and Wednesday comes ahead of Türkiye hosting a NATO summit on July 7–8, and after Kyiv asked Ankara in April to mediate by hosting a leaders’ level meeting.

The Turkish source said Fidan would meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and later meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He will warn against further escalation in the Black Sea and repeat Türkiye’s proposal of a limited ceasefire on ports and energy infrastructure, the source said. In recent months, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of drone attacks on tankers near Türkiye’s northern coast.

A Ukrainian official said that Kyiv would welcome an offer from Türkiye to host bilateral talks, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed several times.

Kyiv’s ambassador to Ankara told Reuters last month that it wanted deeper ties with Türkiye, including joint production in the defense industry.