Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is ready to mediate the nearly four year war between Russian federation and Ukraine ensuring that a ‘historic turning point’ is achieved.
Erdogan told French and Russian leaders that Ankara is ready to host the two warring parties for permanent ceasefire.
Turkey who is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has maintained good relationship between the two countries, and has attempted to host talks so as to end the war for two times before now.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he expected Moscow to commit to a 30-day ceasefire, adding that Kyiv was “ready” to meet Russia for direct truce talks if it did so.
His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul but did not address the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
The Turkish president has welcomed the Russian leader’s statement that peace talks should resume in Istanbul where they left off, in a phone call with Putin on Sunday, his office announced.
He told Putin that “Turkey is ready to host negotiations aimed at achieving a lasting solution,” according to his office.
Erdogan also said that “a window of opportunity has opened for reaching peace, and that achieving a comprehensive ceasefire would create the necessary environment for peace talks.”