Turkish President Recep Tayyip On Tuesday, Erdogan offered Istanbul as the venue for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to reach a “just and lasting” ceasefire. With reference to the statement of the Turkish presidential office published on the X platform, Le Monde reported about it, writes TASR.
In Erdogan’s view, a “ceasefire targeting energy and port infrastructure” could create favorable conditions for negotiating a comprehensive peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
The statement came after Erdogan took part in a video conference of 35 countries from the coalition willing to support Ukraine on Tuesday, where declared that Turkey would continue its diplomatic efforts to mediate direct contact between the warring parties.
Erdogan received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara last week, and on Monday he spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Turkey, although a member of NATO, has not joined the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia. On the contrary, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey has managed to maintain contacts with Moscow, but also with Kiev, to which it supplies, for example, combat drones.
