"The confidence-building measures, like exchanging war prisoners, have also been going well. We have also been mediating to that end," said Mevlut Cavusoglu at a panel during the 17th Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia.
Underlining that there have been "terrible wars in the history within Europe, between Turks and some Europeans," Cavusoglu said such times were now over and that "true friendship in Europe" has blossomed.
"So, this war, today or tomorrow, earlier or later, will be over. We don't know how long it will take," he said, inquiring whether lessons would be learned from the current Russia-Ukraine war.
Questioning also how countries would adapt to the new realities, Cavusoglu said a "negotiated solution" to the war was "much easier to reach in the initial weeks" of the conflict.
Citing the meetings between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Turkish cities of Antalya and Istanbul earlier this year, Cavusoglu said things have since changed and that it was "not that easy" to reach a negotiated solution.
"After the disturbing images we saw from Irpin and Bucha, things have changed. But now, there are new realities on the ground. Unfortunately, some cities, other than the Donbas region of Ukraine, have fallen. We are talking about peace, but it has to be a mutually accepted one. But it has to be, at the same time, a fair peace for Ukraine ... the territorial integrity of Ukraine has to be essential," he added.
Emphasizing that such new realities would "definitely" be reflected in further negotiations," Cavusoglu said that the sides' positions on the status of the Crimea and Donbas regions have also changed.
