Mevlüt

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said Russia's military operation into Ukraine has turned into a war and Turkey will act accordingly over its straits in line with the Montreux Convention.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu asked Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to end the military operation in Ukraine during a phone call on Feb. 26, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Ankara has repeatedly called the Russian invasion of Ukraine "unacceptable".

Turkish deputy foreign minister on Feb. 25 announced the evacuation plan for Turkish nationals in Ukraine via land borders.

"We have started our evacuation operations by land from Ukraine," Yavuz Selim Kıran wrote on Twitter.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Feb. 16 attended NATO meetings in Brussels amid a crisis between the Alliance and Russia over the latter's military build-up in eastern Ukraine. Akar also had a bilateral meeting with his Greek counterpart after a fresh debate between the two neighbors over the status of the Aegean islands.

Senior officials from Turkey and Greece will hold the 64th round of exploratory talks on Feb. 22 in Athens, a dialogue mechanism that has been running since the early 2000s, amid an ongoing quarrel over the latter's continued efforts of the armament of the islands that must be kept demilitarized according to international law.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Feb. 8 had a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed efforts to solve the strain between Ukraine and Russia.

Turkey has accused Greece of pushing back migrants through inhuman ways as a state policy and the European Union of turning a blind eye to this blatant violation of human rights after 19 migrants froze to death after being pushed back by Greek authorities in the past weeks.

Ankara and Moscow are working to determine the date for a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey where discussions will also focus on tensions in eastern Ukraine, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu said on Jan. 27, pointing out the aftermath of the Russian leader's participation in the Beijing Olympics.

Several European Union and NATO countries are interested in Turkish drones as well as Turkey's defense industry in general, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 4.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Dec. 2 discussed bilateral relations and regional challenges with Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov in Stockholm.

In the meeting, our bilateral relations and regional developments including Syria, Libya, Ukraine and the Caucasus were discussed, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.