Anadolu Agency's director-general attends European News Agencies Association General Assembly

By Talha Ozturk and Lejla Biogradlija

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Anadolu Agency's director-general on Friday attended the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) General Assembly and Spring Conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital Sarajevo.

Serdar Karagoz after the conference said Turkiye has a mediator role in the Russia-Ukraine war and pointed out the importance of countries continuing the dialogue.

"As Turkiye, we are in close relations with the news agencies of both Ukraine and Russia. Since Turkiye has a mediator role in the Ukraine-Russia war, we called on both countries to continue the dialogue.

"We drew attention to the importance of this dialogue at the meeting today.

"If the dialogue is interrupted, the war continues and there is no opportunity for diplomacy. Dialogue is necessary for the continuation of diplomacy," said Karagoz.

Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, has caused thousands of deaths, millions being displaced, and a broad range of sanctions on Moscow, in particular by the EU and US.

The three-day meeting, which started on Wednesday, aimed to secure a business environment where news agencies can fulfill the task of independent and unbiased news reporting, promote cooperation and information exchange between member agencies, as well as offer member agencies a pan-European professional forum for discussions and exchange of experiences and know-how by organizing seminars and workshops.

With a network of over 30 national news agencies, EANA serves as a forum for cooperation and exchange of information and experience among its members.

EANA was founded on Aug. 21, 1956, in connection with a conference on new media technology held in Strasbourg. EANA's founding fathers were West European news agencies, Turkiye's Anadolu Agency, and Tanjug in Yugoslavia.