Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that he held talks on ways to end the Ukraine war with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over phone, but noted that both sides are “not yet ready” for a leaders’ meeting.
Erdogan, speaking to reporters on his return from China after meeting Putin and calling Zelenskyy, said recent talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul show the path to peace remains open.
He said Turkey supports “gradually raising the level of negotiations” to turn hopes for peace into concrete outcomes, but added that any initiative must eventually be addressed at the leaders’ level, for which conditions are not yet ready.
NATO member Turkey has kept channels open with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's 2022 invasion and has sought to mediate between them.
Earlier, the Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Turkey's mediation attempts around the Ukraine war at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in China on Monday.
"I'm confident that Turkey's special role in these matters will continue to be in demand," the Russian president said during talks with Erdogan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Putin added that the three rounds of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul have made some progress on the humanitarian track.
The talks have failed to yield a breakthrough over Russia's three-and-a-half-year invasion and resulted only in exchanges of prisoners and soldiers' bodies.
The warring sides have radically different positions and Ukraine has accused Russia of sending low-level officials with no real decision-making power to the Istanbul talks.
Russia has called on Ukraine to effectively cede four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
US President Donald Trump has called for a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Moscow said it was too early to do so before key issues are resolved.
Russia's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
(With inputs from agencies)