Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to have a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During a phone call, Erdogan informed Putin that the “continuation of the good momentum achieved in the Istanbul negotiations” to achieve peace in Ukraine is in everyone’s best interests, according to the Turkish presidential press office.

According to the statement, the president restated his suggestion to elevate the “Istanbul process, which is a very important milestone in the discussions between Russia and Ukraine, to the level of leaders.”

Erdogan emphasised the need of reaching a ceasefire, as well as the successful operation of humanitarian corridors and safe evacuations, and stated that Turkey would continue to do all possible to achieve a sustainable peace.

The phone conversation took place one day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Guterres is on his way to Moscow, where he will try to negotiate a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

Erdogan has been interacting with both Putin and Zelensky for a long time, as Turkey, which has deep links with both nations, has been acting as a mediator to bring the crisis to a finish.

Previously, on March 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met in Antalya, Turkey’s southern province, for the first high-level discussions between Moscow and Kiev since Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

On March 29, the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams met in Istanbul for a face-to-face meeting.
Erdogan refers to the “Istanbul process” because Ankara wants to keep the discussion between Kiev and Moscow going with a leaders’ conference in Istanbul to obtain a final peace agreement.

Turkish officials have stated that Ankara welcomed the notion to become a guarantor country for Ukraine’s security.

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