Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan spoke on Monday to discuss Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's proposal to hold direct Russian-Ukrainian talks this week in Turkey, the Russian ministry said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, February 24, 2025. Reuters/Cagla Gurdogan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan spoke on Monday to discuss Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's proposal to hold direct Russian-Ukrainian talks this week in Turkey, the Russian ministry said.
"The heads of the two ministries discussed issues linked with the initiative by Russian Federation President V.V. Putin about beginning direct talks on a Ukrainian settlement on 15th May in Istanbul," the ministry said in a statement.
A Turkish diplomatic source earlier said the two ministers had spoken, but gave no further details.
Putin issued the proposal at the weekend after European leaders met in Kyiv and urged Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in its war in Ukraine by Monday or face new sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded by saying he was prepared to meet Putin in Turkey on Thursday. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump offered to join the prospective Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address on Monday, said Russia had made no response to his proposal to hold talks with Putin on Thursday.
Zelenskiy said Trump supported the proposed meeting "and we would like him to find the opportunity to be in Turkey."
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ron Popeski; Editing by Leslie Adler and Nia Williams)
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ron Popeski
The mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city and a bastion of its secular opposition, joined President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) on Wednesday, giving it the mayoralty of a city it has never won at the ballot box.
Israelis will on Wednesday mark three years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a military assault that destroyed much of Gaza, where conditions remain dire despite a year-old ceasefire that is meant to halt the war for good.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, his office said on Tuesday, in what will be the first dedicated bilateral visit to NATO ally Turkey by a Canadian leader.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.