Turkey urges talks with Russia on peace, says that world cannot ‘burn bridges’ with Moscow

Turkey has urged further talks with Russia to end its military operation in Ukraine, stressing that the world cannot "burn bridges" with Moscow altogether as the conflict has entered its second month.

Speaking at the Doha international forum on Sunday, Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that “If everybody burns bridges with Russia then who is going to talk to them at the end of the day.”

“Ukrainians need to be supported by every means possible so they can defend themselves ... but the Russian case must be heard, one way or the other,” so that its grievances could be understood if not justified, Kalin further stressed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the “special military operation” on February 24 aimed at the “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, largely populated by ethnic Russians, in eastern Ukraine. In 2014, the two regions – collectively known as the Donbas – declared themselves new republics, refusing to recognize Ukraine’s Western-backed government.

The US and its European allies have labeled the military operation as "Putin’s land grab", saying it has so far been poorly executed because the Kremlin underestimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia with unprecedented waves of sweeping sanctions.

Russia says it will halt the military operation instantly if Kiev meets Moscow’s list of demands, including ruling out Ukraine’s membership in NATO.

NATO-member Turkey, which has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, has sought to mediate in the month-long conflict. Ankara opposes Moscow’s operation in Ukraine but it also rejects the Western sanctions on principle and has not joined them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already urged the West to give his country tanks, planes and missiles to fend off Russian forces. 

On Saturday and at the same forum, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu similarly emphasized the necessity of helping the Russian and Ukrainian sides in finding a face-saving way out of the deepening crisis, rejecting as unacceptable what he called the infringement on Ukrainian sovereignty.

Ankara says it can facilitate peace talks between the two warring sides, but stresses that a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.

Moscow: It's not for Biden to say if Putin stays in power, Russians choose their president

The Kremlin fires back at Biden over his apparent call for regime change in Russia.

Macron warns against ‘escalation’ after Biden’s ‘butcher’ comment

Separately on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron warned against a verbal “escalation” of war between Russia and Ukraine after US President Joe Biden branded Putin a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power.”

“If we want to do that, we can't escalate either in words or actions,” Macron told broadcaster France 3, adding that he saw his task as “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of (Russian) troops by diplomatic means.”

The French leader also said that he would speak to his Russian counterpart in the next two days to organize the evacuation of civilians from the heavily-bombarded port city of Mariupol.

In an impassioned speech from the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Biden denounced Putin over Russia's military operation in Ukraine. “For God's sake, this man [Putin] cannot remain in power.”

Biden’s provocative comments prompted the Kremlin to react in fury, making Moscow to warn that such rhetoric would narrow the window for bilateral relations. “A head of state should stay sober,” the Kremlin snapped back.

Biden’s comments even made the White House to clarify that Washington was not seeking regime change in Russia.

According to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, the European country is making a new push to get civilians out of Mariupol, in the region of Donetsk, on Sunday, with an aid route agreement for people to leave by cars or on evacuation buses.

Some 170,000 people reportedly remain trapped in the besieged city, which is located in the region of Donetsk.

Turkey: Russia, Ukraine ‘close to agreement’, made progress on ‘critical’ issues

“Of course, it is not an easy thing to come to terms with while the war is going on, while civilians are killed, but we would like to say that momentum is still gained,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Moscow restricts access to Germany's Bild website

Russia’s communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, announced on Sunday that it had restricted access to the website of German tabloid Bild on Saturday.

The regulator, according to Interfax, added that the retaliatory measure was taken at the request of Russia’s prosecutor general’s office, without giving further details.

Earlier, the European Union had suspended the broadcasting activities of Russia’s Sputnik and RT/Russia Today in the bloc until Moscow ends its military operation in Ukraine.

US arrogance about NATO expansion led to ‘Russia’s fear of encirclement’, says expert

The arrogance of the US administration’s foreign policy with regard to NATO expansion has led to “Russia’s fear of encirclement” as Washington failed to address Moscow’s concerns about the Ukrainian crisis, a political expert says.

Ukraine: Russia attempting to split Ukraine in two

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed in a statement that Russia is trying to split Ukraine in two to forge a Moscow-controlled region.

“In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine,” he said, alleging that the so-called plan by the Kremlin was adopted after Moscow purportedly failed to take over the whole European country.

Budanov further said that Kiev would soon launch guerrilla warfare in “Russian-occupied” territory.

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