Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed full support for holding renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
During a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan confirmed his willingness to host the talks.
Despite Kyiv’s skepticism toward further dialogue under current conditions, Moscow maintains that talks in Istanbul should be the next step before any formal ceasefire can be considered. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated this position, citing a recent statement by Putin, who emphasized the need for negotiations focused on addressing the “root causes” of the conflict.
“Only after that,” Zakharova said, “discussions of a ‘ceasefire’ can take place,” as quoted by Russian state news agency TASS.
