(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Yuliya Biletska, an expert on international and Ukrainian-Turkish relations and associate professor at the Department of International Relations of Karabuk University, stated this during a closed session at the TRT World Forum in Istanbul, Ukrinform's correspondent reports.

"Turkey has proven that it can act as a mediator, through the grain deal, through the prisoner exchange, and it can also help develop a regional security system that protects Ukraine's sovereignty and stability... Perhaps now it could help create a mechanism for the safe return of abducted children," Biletska noted.

According to her, the return of at least 19,000 children abducted by Russia is a matter of restoring justice, truth, and ending genocide.

The expert believes that reaching a ceasefire agreement does not eliminate the causes of the war.

"Since the beginning of Russia's aggression, we've heard many calls for diplomacy, to 'stop the war.' And of course, everyone wants the fighting to end. But we must be very careful: a ceasefire does not automatically mean peace. A ceasefire can silence the weapons, but it does not cancel out the reasons why this war began," she emphasized.

Biletska also reminded attendees that the goal of Russia's war against Ukraine is not just armed confrontation, but the destruction of Ukraine's identity, independence, culture, and language.

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The TRT World Forum in Istanbul, themed "The Global Reset: From the Old Order to New Realities," took place on October 31-November 1, 2025. Participants, including politicians, leading experts, academics, journalists, athletes, artists, and civil society representatives, discussed major global challenges and the search for new solutions amid global transformation. This year's forum featured 132 participants from 35 countries.

The forum was opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The issue of ending the Russia-Ukraine war was discussed at a closed expert roundtable titled "The Ukrainian Conflict: Diplomacy Amid the Fog of War," attended by Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergiy Kyslytsya. In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the forum via video address.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, as of mid-September this year, Ukraine had returned 1,625 children from Russia and temporarily occupied territories, in cooperation with NGOs and with the help of mediator countries.

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