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Türkiye will continue its mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine as the conflict resolution process enters what officials describe as a "sensitive stage," the Turkish National Security Council announced Thursday following a meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The security council statement emphasized Türkiye's ongoing commitment to achieving sustainable peace through diplomatic channels.
"It was noted that the process of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered a sensitive stage. It was stated that Türkiye, which has taken the initiative to achieve lasting and just peace, will continue contributing to global peace and stability through peace diplomacy and mediation efforts," the council statement said.
The Turkish announcement comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin declared plans to establish a buffer zone along the Ukraine border, citing attacks on civilians in border regions.
Meeting with government officials in Moscow, Putin accused Ukrainian forces of conducting "terror attacks" using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against civilian targets.
"The enemy usually chooses targets without military significance, such as civilian facilities, homes, people. Current developments only confirm my words. The Ukrainian army attacks civilian vehicles with UAVs, including ambulances and agricultural machinery," Putin said.
Putin specified that the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions were particularly affected by these attacks.
"A decision has been made to create a necessary secure buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are now carrying out this task," Putin stated.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha strongly criticized Putin's buffer zone announcement on X (formerly Twitter), noting the timing coincided with active peace efforts.
"These new aggressive statements clearly reject peace efforts and show that Putin was and continues to be the sole cause of ongoing killings," Sybiha said.
The Ukrainian official emphasized that Putin's announcement emerged during a period when efforts were being made to achieve a complete and lasting ceasefire and end the war.
Despite escalating tensions, both sides reported progress on implementing agreements reached during Istanbul negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine has begun examining a list received from Russia for a proposed exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side.
"We are learning the details of each person presented on the list from the Russian side," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
The Ukrainian president emphasized that the prisoner exchange agreement was a result of negotiations in Türkiye and that returning all Ukrainian prisoners home remains a priority. He noted that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is overseeing the process, with involvement from the Ukrainian Parliament and security services.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Interfax that Russia has delivered its list for the prisoner exchange.
"We have indeed delivered our list. We have not yet received a counter-list from Kyiv. We are waiting," Peskov said.
The spokesman added that implementing the Istanbul agreements requires considerable effort and time, stating, "Everyone is in favor of this being done as soon as possible."
Peskov noted that work continues on implementing agreements reached during the Istanbul negotiations but confirmed no agreement has been reached on the next round of talks between Russia and Ukraine.
"We will need to agree on this. Work on implementing the agreements reached in Istanbul continues," he said.
The Kremlin spokesman also denied any agreement to hold the next negotiations at the Vatican and stated they had no information about what U.S. President Donald Trump discussed with European leaders following his phone conversation with Putin earlier in the week.
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