Erdogan plans to hold talks with Putin, Zelenskyy

Ankara, April 14 ( /Sputnik) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days to discuss the situation in Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. “Our president will continue talks with the leaders in the coming days, we, in turn, keep constant telephone contact with our Russian and Ukrainian colleagues. I had talks with the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with Moscow. Constant contacts are also maintained with the Russian side,” Cavusoglu said in an interview with the NTV broadcaster. Cavusoglu expressed his opinion that the meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy might happen soon, and that it depends on the Russian leader’s position. “I believe that this meeting is not that far away. Everything depends on Putin’s position and consent. As a matter of principle, the Russian leader is not against the (meeting),” Cavusoglu said. The minister added that the atmosphere at the Moscow-Kyiv talks has changed. “We do not give up hope, we are continuing our diplomatic efforts in organizing the leaders’ meeting, in reaching a sustainable ceasefire. Reaching a cease-fire agreement will be difficult in the event of escalations of hostilities in coming days,” Cavusoglu said. Russian and Ukrainian officials have been engaged in peace talks and the last round concluded in Istanbul on March 29. As the result of the talks, Russia reduced combat operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions, and withdrew troops from the Kyiv region. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Moscow and Kyiv continue negotiations on the situation in Ukraine in an online format. /SPUTNIK VP

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