Türkiye is back in the spotlight as a key international mediator as it gears up to host a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday in Istanbul that could prove momentous.
Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled a willingness to meet in person in the Turkish metropolis to resume talks, bringing global attention to Ankara’s position as a central player in regional and international diplomacy.
From facilitating critical grain exports from Ukraine during the ongoing war to hosting peace talks between African and other nations, Türkiye has emerged as a trusted intermediary capable of steering high-stakes negotiations, according to analysts.
Its active diplomatic involvement extends across various conflict zones, including Ethiopia and Somalia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, prisoner exchanges involving the U.S. and Russia and complex disputes in the Balkans.
“Türkiye has stepped up as a mediator in different regional contexts. In the Ukraine-Russia war, it also facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain, which was a very important development,” said Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu, an academic at the Social Sciences University of Ankara.
Türkiye has been a central diplomatic figure between Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. On March 10, 2022, just days after matters escalated, Ankara successfully hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, marking the highest-level meeting since the war’s outbreak.
Furthering its mediation efforts, Türkiye facilitated another crucial gathering of Russian and Ukrainian negotiation teams in Istanbul from March 28 to 30, 2022.
Ankara’s most notable diplomatic triumph was brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative alongside the U.N. on July 22, 2022. This agreement, aimed at alleviating global food security threats triggered by the war, garnered widespread international acclaim and resulted in establishing a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has maintained open communication channels with Moscow and Kyiv. With his landmark visit to Lviv on Aug. 18, 2022, Erdoğan became the only NATO leader to have visited both nations since hostilities erupted, reflecting Türkiye’s unique position.
Furthermore, Türkiye successfully facilitated a significant prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine on Sept. 22, 2022.
Ethiopia-Somalia dispute
In a major diplomatic breakthrough, Türkiye helped mediate a historic resolution between Somalia and Ethiopia in December 2024, culminating in the Ankara Declaration.
The landmark accord brokered by Türkiye resolved tensions sparked by Ethiopia’s January 2024 maritime access deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland regarding the Red Sea port of Berbera.
As Erdoğan later emphasized, the agreement was achieved after a seven-hour marathon negotiation.
In the declaration, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “reaffirmed their respect and commitment to one another’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.”
Azerbaijan-Armenia tensions
In the South Caucasus, Türkiye significantly influenced the decades-long Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute over Karabakh.
In September 2023, Azerbaijan successfully regained control of Karabakh through a swift 44-day military campaign triggered by Armenian provocations and attacks.
Türkiye played a critical supporting role throughout the conflict, offering extensive defense industry cooperation, technology transfers and strategic diplomatic support that contributed significantly to Azerbaijan’s military success and subsequent peace efforts.
Historic prisoner exchange
Türkiye’s mediation efforts have extended beyond traditional conflicts.
In August 2024, Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) orchestrated one of the most extensive prisoner exchanges involving seven countries.
According to security sources, 26 individuals were exchanged and transported to Ankara on seven aircraft, one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and two from the U.S.. Belarus was also involved in the swap.
Ten hostages, including two children, were transferred to Russia, while 13 were sent to Germany and three to the U.S.
Facilitating stability in the Balkans
Türkiye’s role in the Balkans also reflects its commitment to regional stability and reconciliation.
In 2010, Türkiye launched trilateral cooperation efforts involving Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia, three nations still grappling with the legacy of the Yugoslav Wars.
The initiative, grounded in regional dialogue and reconciliation, seeks to bridge long-standing ethnic and political divides, deepen economic cooperation, and promote regional integration.
Under the mechanism, nine meetings at the level of foreign ministers have been held to date, with the most recent hosted by Croatia on June 29, 2024, as part of the Dubrovnik Forum.
Other major mediation steps
Other geographies where Ankara has made its mark as a mediator range from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and beyond.
According to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye has actively worked to resolve conflicts peacefully and leads several initiatives on that front, including efforts to achieve internal reconciliation in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Kyrgyzstan.
In 2011, Türkiye launched the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process alongside Afghanistan and Pakistan, seeking to promote regional ownership of Afghan stability. Ankara’s trilateral format with Kabul and Islamabad focused on counterterrorism, trade, and infrastructure cooperation.
Türkiye has also facilitated trust-building efforts between Sudan and South Sudan through joint economic projects, attempting to ease tensions between the two countries that have clashed since South Sudan’s secession in 2011.
Ankara has also promoted the peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear program through dialogue while supporting the peace process in the South Philippines, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Decades-long commitment to mediation
Experts emphasize that Türkiye’s mediation strategy is not recent but results from a sustained foreign policy initiative spanning several decades.
Tepeciklioğlu, a professor at the university’s African Studies Department, pointed out Türkiye’s proactive role in launching the Mediation for Peace initiative within the U.N. framework in 2010, which significantly increased international awareness of mediation’s role in conflict resolution.
“It led to the expansion of the Group of Friends on Mediation, of which several African countries are also members. This played a role in increasing awareness about the role of mediation in conflict resolution,” she explained.
Echoing similar sentiments, Esra Çuhadar, a former senior mediation advisor, remarked that while Türkiye’s mediation efforts have been ongoing for many years, recent successes have increased their global prominence.
“Türkiye has made a lot of contributions to policymaking concerning mediation at the global and regional level and this has also been going on for decades,” she said, highlighting Türkiye’s key role in organizations such as the Friends of Mediation Group at the U.N., the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Why reliable?
Experts pointed out several reasons why conflicting nations view Türkiye as a reliable mediator. According to Tepeciklioğlu, Türkiye’s impartial stance and established relations with various countries strengthen its mediation credibility.
“Türkiye is seen as a reliable … mediator by different countries in the world, not only the ones it has close relations with, such as the African countries at present, but also other countries that see Türkiye as more reliable than others,” she explained.
Tepeciklioğlu emphasized that Türkiye’s successful mediation between Somalia and Ethiopia benefited from Ankara’s strong historic ties with both nations. Ethiopia specifically requested Türkiye’s mediation, which Somalia warmly welcomed, she said.
“Somalia is a key ally in Türkiye’s Africa policy, while it has relations with Ethiopia dating back to the Ottoman Empire,” she added.
Türkiye’s reliable mediator status results from its comprehensive Africa policy that includes extensive humanitarian and development projects, educational opportunities for African students and robust trade and investment ties.
Türkiye also has numerous embassies in African countries, and its national airline flies to several destinations across the continent, said Tepeciklioğlu.
Turkish NGOs and public institutions are also involved in large-scale humanitarian and development projects, including providing educational opportunities to African students.
“So, it did not happen overnight. It is the product of Türkiye’s Africa strategy, which is very comprehensive, covering trade ties, investment relations, security cooperation, training facilities and so on,” said the academic.
“This made Türkiye be seen as a reliable actor by many African countries.”
Çuhadar underscored two critical assets that mediators must possess: impartiality and resources.
Türkiye’s mediation, she explained, is strengthened by its impartiality and ability to offer meaningful resources and solutions.
Another factor that motivates conflicting parties to ask for Türkiye’s mediation is the geographical location and proximity to conflict areas, she said.
Çuhadar added that identity-related factors, such as cultural and historical ties, also significantly contribute to Türkiye’s successful mediation outcomes.
“These were pretty much the assets that we brought to Afghanistan-Pakistan mediation, for example,” she highlighted.
Türkiye’s enhanced global mediation role reflects a long-term strategy bolstered by impartiality, historic connections, diplomatic ingenuity and strategic geographical positioning.
As global conflicts persist, analysts say Ankara’s diplomatic endeavors demonstrate the crucial value of effective mediation, highlighting Türkiye’s emergence as an indispensable player in international peacebuilding efforts.