RT.com
01 Feb 2023, 04:13 GMT+10
Recep Tayyip Erdogan deserves the award for his efforts to negotiate a resolution to the conflict, Peter Szijjarto said
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has declared that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to broker an end to the hostilities in Ukraine
Speaking at a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday, Szijjarto praised Erdogan's role in negotiating the Black Sea grain deal, and his hosting of ultimately fruitless peace talks between Moscow and Kiev last year.
"Anyone who talks about peace is immediately presented as an ally of Putin, they are immediately portrayed as a friend of the Russians, a propagandist of the Kremlin," he stated, referring to the climate of hostility toward Russia in the West. "But the only way to end the war is through negotiations. Turkey's successful attempts at mediation have proven this."
"The only successful mediation attempt that has given any hope of peace is that of Türkiye, President Erdogan and Minister Cavusoglu personally, which led to the Black Sea Grain Initiative," he continued. "Thanks to Türkiye's efforts we can move closer to the hope of peace."
Despite being a member of the NATO military bloc, Türkiye has not sanctioned Russia, and maintains diplomatic and trade links with both Kiev and Moscow. Erdogan, who has described his position on the conflict as "balanced," has visited both Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin since hostilities began last February, and earlier this month told both leaders that he remains ready to broker a "permanent peace" between them.
Efforts to negotiate this peace have thus far failed. According to US sources, an agreement was reportedly within reach following talks in Istanbul last March. However, the Ukrainian delegation abruptly pulled out after a surprise visit to Kiev by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during which he urged Ukrainian officials to keep fighting, according to the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper.
The deputy leader of Erdogan's party, Numan Kurtulmus, has since come out and said that a deal was close, but the US and its allies "didn't want" this to happen.
Hungary is an outlier among EU countries in that it has opposed some of the bloc's sanctions on Russia, and has refused to contribute weapons to Kiev's forces. Although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has condemned Moscow's military operation, he has decried the "spiral of escalation" that the West has embarked on in Ukraine and called on the US to pressure Kiev into peace talks with Moscow.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel prizes, and has been awarded annually since 1901. Some recent winners have generated controversy, as was the case when US President Barack Obama received the award in 2009 before going on to involve America in five new foreign conflicts and wage a drone campaign that targeted - among hundreds of others - US citizens.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationIsrael resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
Washington has sent a clear signal that Kiev will not be admitted into the military bloc anytime soon, Kiev lawmaker ...
New Delhi [India], December 7 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that an inquiry committee is looking ...
A Russian drone attack killed one person and damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region, the regional governor said Thursday.Oleh ...
New Delhi [India], December 7 (ANI): India's expanding consumer market and vast labour force can make it an alternative destination ...
The EU's top leaders will meet in China with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang for their first ...
NEW YORK, New York - In a rare move, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken a dramatic constitutional step ...
BUKITTINGGI, Indonesia: On December 2, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, erupted, sending hot ash clouds several miles (kilometers) ...
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: In a measure supporters claimed will increase public safety amid high violent crime rates, Philadelphia City Council passed ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: As winter sets in and with cold weather just around the corner, Chicago is struggling to house hundreds ...
BOLOGNA, Italy: Due to fears of a collapse, local officials have secured the area around one of two 12th century ...
MUNICH, Germany: The heavy snow and icy conditions that hit Bavaria, Germany, canceled flights and long-distance trains out of Munich, ...