Erdoğan offers to mediate between Ukraine and Russia

Turkish president faces delicate balancing act in supporting Ukraine while maintaining Moscow relations

The Turkish president and wild card of Nato diplomacy, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, will fly to Kyiv on Thursday to offer himself again in the role of mediator between Ukraine and the Russian president Vladimir Putin. He will be joining the flock of overseas leaders lending their support to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and is expected to sign a free-trade deal.

With Turkey's Nato membership often under challenge, partly due to its decision to buy the Russian-made S-400 air-defence system, Erdoan faces a difficult balancing act in showing continued strong diplomatic support for Ukraine while not damaging his complex long-term relations with Moscow.