President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his hope that the efforts undertaken for the Ukraine talks scheduled to be held in Istanbul would not be in vain.
President Erdoğan emphasised that he had a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Sunday with the aim of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, followed by discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
Speaking after the Cabinet Meeting on Monday, Erdoğan stated, "Sunday was quite a busy day for diplomacy. We held a phone conversation with President Emmanuel Macron of France, followed by another conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. During our discussion with President Putin, we addressed many critical issues, including the resolution of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Emphasising that he had a phone conversation with Zelenski regarding the resolution of the Ukraine crisis, President Erdoğan expressed his hope that the efforts undertaken for negotiations scheduled to be held in İstanbul would not be in vain.
Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding unconditional direct talks with Ukraine in İstanbul on May 15, emphasising that Russia had never shied away from dialogue with the Ukrainian side.