By Merve Aydogan and Gozde Bayar
ANKARA (AA) – Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held this week in Istanbul have given “meaningful impetus” to efforts to end the war, Turkiye’s president said in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart on Thursday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reiterated his offer to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin for talks to secure peace between Ukraine and Russia, according to a statement from Turkiye’s Communications Directorate.
In a tweet after their conversation, Zelenskyy hailed Erdogan as a “real friend of Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy said he thanked Erdogan for Turkiye’s readiness to become a guarantor of Ukraine’s security, adding that the two leaders “agreed on further steps towards peace.”
Turkiye, with its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul this Tuesday were seen as a breakthrough in the push to halt hostilities that, according to latest UN figures, have claimed the lives of at least 1,232 civilians and left 1,935 more injured since Feb. 24.
After the Istanbul meeting, a Ukrainian negotiator said Kyiv wants Turkiye among the countries that will be guarantors in any deal with Moscow.
Earlier this month, Turkiye also brought together the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in its southern resort city of Antalya, the only meeting of senior government officials from the two sides since the start of the war.