PRESIDENT ERDOGAN TO SPEAK WITH PUTIN AS TURKEY PUSHES FOR END TO UKRAINE WAR

Sat 05 March 2022:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman says the Turkish president will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 6 and that Ankara is prepared to do all possible to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Turkey, a NATO member, maintains good ties with both Kyiv and Moscow, and has called for an end to the violence since Putin announced the invasion on February 24.

On March 5, Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin indicated in Istanbul that Turkey was willing to assist in resolving the conflict.

He reiterated Turkey’s offer to hold talks between Russia and Ukraine and demanded an end to the violence immediately.

Erdogan’s aim to maintain ties with both Moscow and Kyiv was reiterated by Kalin.

Russia’s ambassador to UN institutions in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, on March 4 welcomed Ankara’s proposal to set up a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers during a diplomatic forum in Antalya on March 11-13.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Kyiv wanted “a responsible international mediator” because the Ukrainians “don’t trust the Russian Federation at all.”

Turkey, Hungary, or Poland, according to Podolyak, might host talks.

Since the invasion began, Ukrainian delegates have had two rounds of negotiations with Russian counterparts.

Erdogan spoke separately with Zelenskiy, who is in Kyiv leading Ukraine’s military and civilian defense.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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