Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he intends to speak with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin about efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
He said this while speaking to journalists after a visit to South Korea, Reuters reports.
According to Erdogan, Turkey’s foreign minister and other officials responsible are in contact with both sides about the possibility of arranging a meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said there are currently no specific plans for a conversation between Putin and Erdogan. He added that, if necessary, such a call could be arranged at short notice.
- On 31 October, during a meeting in Turkey, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the prospects for trilateral talks on ending the war and the possibility of involving Ankara, European countries and other partners. Zelenskyy said various negotiating formats were being considered, including holding a meeting in Turkey.
- On 1 November, in an interview with CNN Türk, Zelenskyy described Ankara as a possible mediator in the talks and stressed that he supports such a format given Ukraine’s relations with Turkey and President Erdogan’s contacts with the Kremlin leader.