According to Reuters, a telephone conversation took place between Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the main topic of which was the situation in Ukraine. At the beginning of the conversation, Erdogan congratulated the Russian president on his 70th birthday and wished him good health and success.
As it became known to journalists, the Turkish leader confirmed that his country is ready to continue making efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Erdogan, Turkey is in a unique position, as it is one of the few countries, if not the only one, that can have an open dialogue with both Kyiv and Moscow. Earlier, the Turkish president noted the important role of Ankara in concluding a deal on the export of grain from Ukraine, as well as a significant role in the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine.
In addition to Ukraine, bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey were also discussed during telephone conversations.
Recall that since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Turkey has been actively making efforts to hold peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. In the spring, a series of meetings between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place in Istanbul. For obvious reasons, Erdogan has his own personal interest in this, and it is for this purpose that he shows himself as a kind of dove of peace. True, as soon as it comes to the supply of Turkish weapons in the interests of Kyiv, the Turkish president immediately looks for an answer in the plane: these are all purely private decisions - business decisions that have nothing to do with state structures. Such logic...
The last time the leaders of Russia and Turkey spoke at the end of last month. Then Erdogan also called on his Russian counterpart to start the negotiation process.