Turkey must maintain a delicate diplomatic balance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to help facilitate a negotiated end to the war, a spokesman for the president said. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, writes Reuters.

Ibrahim Kalin, who is also Erdogan's top foreign policy adviser, said that although Ankara had criticized Moscow's invasion of February 24 and its activities on the battlefield, it would not be good to take a punitive stance against Russia.

NATO member Turkey, a neighbor of the warring countries, has good relations with both and has opposed Western sanctions on Moscow. Tens of thousands of Russians have arrived in the country - and several sanctioned yachts of the oligarchs since the beginning of the war.

However, Ankara also supplied Kyiv with armed drones and blocked some Russian naval crossings to the Black Sea. Turkey hosted talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

"We have opposed this war from the very beginning, but we have also maintained contact with Moscow," Kalin said at the weekend.

"They need someone - a trusted partner, a negotiator, a facilitator, a moderator - someone in a position to talk to the Russian as well as the Ukrainian side," he told Reuters.

"We have been able to maintain this position since the beginning of the war and I think it is really in everyone's common interest for everyone to maintain a balanced position.