UN Envoy: 'This war has and will have no winners'
Created: 06/03/2022, 12:31 p.m
Amin Awad © Albin Lohr-Jones / IMAGO
The war in Ukraine has been going on for 100 days.
The United Nations assesses the situation in such a way that no country will emerge as a winner.
New York, USA - "This war has not and will not have a winner," said the UN coordinator for Ukraine, Amin Awad, on Friday when Russian troops invaded Ukraine 100 days ago.
"Instead, for 100 days we saw what was lost: lives, houses, jobs and prospects."
The war had an "unacceptable number of victims" and "swallowed up practically all aspects of civilian life," said Awad, who is also the UN deputy secretary-general.
"In just over three months, almost 14 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, the majority women and children."
The UN is working to limit the war's "devastating impact" on food security by seeking to end the blockade of important grain and commodity trades, Awad said.
The sharp drop in grain exports from Ukraine has led to drastic price increases.
This is exacerbating the situation in some regions of the world already suffering from conflict and climate change, fueling fears of social unrest.
"We need peace. The war must end now," the United Nations statement said.
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Turkey is using the Ukraine crisis to expand its role as a geopolitical player
Turkey is making itself unpopular internationally: in the midst of the confrontation with Russia over the Ukraine war, Ankara is blocking NATO expansion and is also threatening an offensive in northern Syria.
Head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists on asserting Turkish interests, even if he angers allies by doing so.
The president, who is under a lot of pressure domestically and economically, wants to make a name for himself as a strong leader - especially with a view to the presidential election in a year's time.
Ankara has vetoed Sweden's and Finland's planned rapid accession to NATO because of the war in Ukraine.
Erdogan accuses the two countries of harboring "terrorists" from the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK and its allies YPG from northern Syria.
"Erdogan is trying to turn the issue into a diplomatic opportunity," says Yektan Türkyilmaz from the Central European University in Vienna.
"Sweden and Finland feel compelled to discuss Turkey's 'concerns'. In effect, this means Turkey is claiming the right to treat whoever it wants as 'terrorists'."
Allies of the PKK are also the target of Turkey's planned military operation in Syria, with which Ankara wants to set up a 30-kilometer "security zone" along the border.
A Turkish offensive in northern Iraq has been underway since mid-April for the same reasons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that an invasion of northern Syria would jeopardize the stability of the region.
Moscow is also calling for restraint.
But Erdogan does not seem ready to heed the warnings.
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"Of course, Turkey has legitimate concerns about the PKK and Sweden's relations with the PKK and the YPG, the Kurdish fighters in Syria," says Soner Cagaptay, Turkey expert at the US think tank Washington Institute.
But domestic political considerations are also at play in the run-up to the 2023 election.
"Erdogan is preparing the public for a confrontation with Europe, which he will probably win. Even if the Swedes will not do everything Turkey wants, Erdogan will describe this as a victory with which he brought the Europeans to their knees." , analyzes Cagaptay.
"His image as a strongman will be cemented worldwide and will also benefit him nationally."
According to observers, Erdogan also hopes to use the NATO membership issue to resolve the F-16 dispute.
Turkey ordered and partially paid for the US fighter jets.
But Washington suspended the deal after Ankara purchased a Russian S-400 missile defense system.
"Erdogan signals to US President Joe Biden: Let's talk about my planes and I'll be happy to withdraw my veto in NATO," says Cagaptay.
Even in the struggle for an end to the war in Ukraine, there seems to be no way around Turkey.
Erdogan has managed to maintain ties with Kyiv (which is armed with Turkish drones) without angering Moscow, says Elizabete Aunina of the University of Amsterdam.
"It is noteworthy that Turkey - although there has been no significant mediation progress - is still considered the trusted third party for mediation between Ukraine and Russia."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected in Turkey next Wednesday to negotiate the establishment of Black Sea corridors for the export of Ukrainian wheat.
Ankara has offered naval support - a plan Moscow appears to be considering.
Turkey, already suffering from over 70 percent inflation, is heavily dependent on gas and wheat from Ukraine and Russia.
It is Lavrov's second visit to Turkey after the talks in Antalya in March - the only meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba since the beginning of the war.
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