FOREIGN MINISTER HAKAN FİDAN- Dear press members, as you have been following closely, Istanbul is at the centre of a very intense diplomatic traffic. We hosted talks between Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday. Nuclear talks between Iran, Germany, the United Kingdom and France were also held in Istanbul yesterday.

Today, we are focused on the Balkans, which is an extremely important region for us. We hosted the first meeting of the Balkan Peace Platform in Istanbul. The President of the Republic of Türkiye gave the instructions for this meeting to be held. Leaders from other countries also expressed interest in this issue. Thus, we came together with participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania and Kosovo. I would like to express at the outset my sincere thanks to our esteemed guests and their delegations for their contributions.

Dear friends, the Balkans is a strategic crossroads between the European, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Black Sea basins. Throughout history, it has been at the centre of political, economic and security balances. It remains equally important today. The stability of the Balkans is of great importance for the peace and security of the surrounding regions, especially Europe. This geography is not only a strategic area for Türkiye, but also a priority area intertwined with cultural and human ties. With the contribution of these ties, we are a country that can closely feel the internal rhythm and reality of the region. Our bilateral cooperation with the countries of the region continues to develop in a multidimensional way. With mutual high-level contacts, our cooperation is gradually expanding to new areas every day. We believe that stability in the Balkans will be permanent primarily through further strengthening of cooperation and dialogue between the countries in the region. The principle of regional ownership is at the basis of our approach.

The Balkan Peace Platform, the first meeting of which we held today, also constitutes a new link in our approach of regional ownership. Our goal is to develop a result-oriented and unique structure that addresses issues in a sincere manner and allows for regular contact between the parties. In this way, we will have the opportunity to discuss the political, economic and social challenges that directly affect us.

We want to create a ground where the word Balkans will be used in the sense of cooperation and solidarity, not division and separation. We are striving to contribute to the welfare and peace of not only our region but also our immediate surroundings. We aim to support existing mechanisms, not to replace any process. We provide a framework that supports the efforts of the international community, especially the Belgrade-Pristhina dialogue process.

Distinguished friends, today we have come together with esteemed participants to find Balkan solutions to Balkan problems and to create concrete projects. We have discussed regional issues and emphasized that establishing stability and prosperity in the entire Balkans is our primary priority. We have exchanged views under many titles, including political developments in the region, as well as energy security, strengthening connectivity, regional cooperation and capacity building opportunities. Of course, we have also discussed the future of the Balkan Peace Platform.We aim that this platform creates a complementary format to the existing platforms and initiatives in the region. We have addressed these issues in detail with the esteemed participants. A common will has emerged to continue the meetings at regular intervals and to give priority to projects that will materialise regional cooperation.

Dear press members, we have been going through a period in which crises are intertwined on a global scale, international norms are eroded and uncertainties are increasing. In the face of these challenges, common sense requires to search for coordinated and collective solutions, not individual ones. Therefore, there is a greater need than ever before to strengthen regional dialogue mechanisms. We must make decisions regarding our own region all together. We have a common history and this history has both painful and pleasant aspects. However, we must not allow this history to condemn us to the dead ends of the past. We must draw lessons from our common history and take on the responsibility of guiding the future together. We cannot leave our future to coincidences or to the hands of others. We wish the Balkan Peace Platform to serve this search. We launched this initiative with the aspiration to work together for a Balkans that produces together and sees its differences as a wealth. We believe that stability, security and prosperity can only be built together. We will continue to resolutely support the progress of the Balkans towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous future, together with our friends.

I would like to thank all our friends once again who contributed to this process with their participation.

QUESTION- Mr. Minister, today a meeting was held for the first time in this format. Countries that are not members of the European Union participated in the meeting. What concrete steps and concrete decisions were taken in these meetings? There are also some problems in the Balkans.There are occasional tensions between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In addition, the Belgrade-Pristhina dialogue, which you mentioned, is also on the agenda. Türkiye also has an increasing mediator role. Can Türkiye take a role in solving these bilateral problems within this process?

FOREIGN MINISTER HAKAN FİDAN- Dear friends, you know that six of the seven participating countries are candidate countries for European Union membership and each of them is currently in a candidacy process with the European Union and some are continuing on varying scales or not. One of our common agenda items is how we can share experiences together as candidate countries during the European Union membership process, what can be our common attitudes, positions, what are our different understandings in our relations with the European Union, how can we take this further, especially how can we increase awareness of the region we belong to in Brussels? We went over this issue in detail. You know, the European Union also has very serious policies for the region in many areas such as economic, cultural, political and technological. However, we are not members of the European Union, we are candidate countries. Being a candidate country comes with responsibilities, and these responsibilities can become increasingly binding. Candidate countries can take steps to implement or not implement the decisions taken by the European Union, depending on their own preferences. Our main concern was that they should be synchronized and whether we can find a common ground as Türkiye has been contemplating about from the beginning and create a common position based on this common ground.

Therefore, an agreement has been reached to create an environment for further coordinated framework in our work concerning the European Union. In this context, particularly with regard to Europe’s visa policies, discussions focused on what kind of experience-sharing could be pursued jointly, what changes the existing geostrategic environment may entail, when the accession of member states is expected to take place, and whether there are any economic, political or security-related issues that have been suspended until accession, and if so, how these could be compensated. It turned out to be a platform that allowed for an in-depth discussion of all aspects, ranging from the European Union’s awareness of this issue to its awareness of the sensitivities of the region.

On the other hand, we are also trying to explain the following: Each of these countries is historically, geographically and culturally a continuation of one another. Therefore, it is significant for a group of countries that are so interdependent to act together on certain issues. At the same time, we have agreed on the work regarding how we can turn the common points that provide this interdependence between us into trade, economy, political cooperation, defense and defense industry cooperation in modern times. As you are well aware, the European Union is currently pursuing two initiatives under two separate special funding instruments, namely SAFE and ReArm Europe.There are special rights granted to European Union member countries and different definitions made regarding candidate countries in these projects. We all decided to work together on those related to the candidate countries. Apart from SAFE and ReArm Europe, we have also discussed how we can pursue our own defence industry cooperation, given that each country around the table has different capacities in this regard. We have addressed this matter as an agenda item.

We addressed the importance of mobilization on youth and education. It is particularly important for young people to get to know each other's countries through more education and observation, and Turks rank first in terms of tourism numbers in all six of these countries. As you know, Balkan tours are now extremely popular. Our citizens are going on tours to the Balkans. In every capital we visit—Belgrade, Pristina, Skopje, Bosnia, Tirana—the number of Turkish tourists is steadily increasing.

These countries are also immensely satisfied with the situation. Istanbul and the rest of Türkiye are also a great attraction for these countries, both in terms of tourism and business. We were in search of how we could take this further, whether we were observing and evaluating it enough. And we will continue this. We also agreed on finding regional solutions to regional problems. You know, we use this matter a lot for both the Caucasus and the Black Sea, and within both the Near East and the Middle East. Rather than waiting for the hegemon, let the contributions from there be received, but if there is a capacity for us to solve our own problems as the countries of the region, it is our duty and our obligation to demonstrate that capacity. We had discussions and meetings about raising awareness and consciousness on this issue. We were pleased to see that there was a common ground on this issue as well. We have decided to meet every six months. For now, Istanbul will continue to be the center of the Balkan Peace Platform, this is an informal format. Dear friends, as you know, our meetings are in an informal format. There is a format based on open discussion of problems in a free environment, in a friendly way, without official records. We also agreed on bringing our leaders together in this format when we make some progress in the coming period of time.

While all these are being discussed, what will happen to the areas of conflict between some of the countries around the table? Bosnia and Herzegovina has its own internal problems with the Republic of Serbia, and there can be problems with Serbia.

Serbia has problems with Kosovo. We observed with satisfaction that, let me say without naming any of the participants, no one wants a hot war or conflict like in the old days. There is a consensus around the table on solving the problems through diplomacy, talking and reaching an agreement, and advancing the agenda in this way. I was already seeing this in my bilateral meetings; therefore, having such a platform will also help solve existing problem areas. But the region is so focused on problems that life goes by and other opportunities are missed. It has negative repercussions for us, both economically and in terms of security. Therefore, while we place certain problems in brackets or continue to solve them by peaceful means, we have observed that there is an awareness and mental consensus regarding the work on how to cooperate in economic and other areas and how to enhance connectivity. The parties have also expressed this point around the table. In my opinion, this is the most important outcome for the continuation of regional peace.

QUESTION- Sir, you started your words with the Ukraine-Russia negotiations, my question would also be in this direction. Mr. Erdoğan made a statement yesterday that "I may have a meeting with Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump this week." A leaders' summit has been on the agenda for a long time. The Ukrainian side also told the Russian side, “We actually want this leaders' summit to be held by the end of August, we have presented our proposal.” What do you think, sir, what is your impression regarding the parties you have contacted on this issue, what are the signals, how do they see this issue? And if such a leaders' summit were to take place in Türkiye, what kind of a step would it be for both Turkish foreign policy and the ending of the war?

FOREIGN MINISTER HAKAN FİDAN- Dear friends, one of the important agenda items of the Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine, which we completed its third round recently, is bringing the leaders together. You know, it is currently going on in three main areas, the first one is humanitarian issues, which mainly include prisoner exchanges. The second issue is related to understanding and bringing the positions of the parties closer regarding the current ceasefire. Third one is on the gathering of leaders, under what conditions and how they will convene. These three topics have been discussed in all three sessions we have held so far. On the humanitarian front, each time they come together, they agree on the exchange of more prisoners, wounded and detainees, with really increasing numbers, and both parties show the best will and effort they can and put it into practice. This is explicitly a great pleasure for the President of the Republic of Türkiye and also for us. In a war that has caused such heavy losses and destruction, the release of prisoners of war and their return to their families, and the happiness of that mothers, fathers, spouses and children, is a source of relief and hope, even if to a small extent.

On the other hand, the situation regarding the discussions on when and how the leaders will convene is as follows: All parties, Russia and Ukraine, are expressing their willingness to convene in Istanbul, hosted by Türkiye. However, there is an ongoing negotiation process about under what conditions and when to arrive. Obviously, we are trying to bring the different attitudes of Ukraine and Russia on this issue together somewhere in the middle as negotiators, the parties are talking about it. If a ceasefire is to be agreed upon at the leaders' summit, we know that Mr. Trump is also interested in this. Therefore, the President of the Republic of Türkiye wants to speed up this process a little more. He believes a lot in leaders diplomacy. He also thinks that certain stalemates between the negotiating delegations may be unblocked when the leaders come together. Maybe we can make an attempt to make this possible. When leaders come together, what kind of discussions will they have and what decisions will they make? The delegations need to prepare for these issues in advance. We are currently at that stage, whereas previously there was a dispute over whether leaders should come or not, that disagreement no longer exists. Everyone is willing to come, but there are differing views among Russians and Ukrainians about under what condition and when, at what stage they should come. We are at the stage of bringing them together. If that is achieved in the near future, I believe that all three leaders will meet in Istanbul, hosted by our President.

Thank you.

* Deciphered by Interpress- unofficial translation from the Turkish text