Moscow believes Erdogan will ‘officially’ offer to mediate negotiations with Ukraine

Moscow believes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will “officially” offer to mediate negotiations with Ukraine at an upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan, a Kremlin aide said Wednesday.

“The Turks are offering their mediation. If any talks take place, then most likely they will be on their territory: in Istanbul or Ankara,” Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters, adding that “Erdogan will probably propose something officially.”

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

NATO member Turkey has close relations with both Ukraine and Russia and has sought to balance ties during the war, rejecting Western sanctions on Moscow while criticizing the Russian invasion and supplying Kyiv with armed drones.

Along with the United Nations, Turkey brokered the July deal to unlock Ukrainian grain exports from its Black Sea ports, in what remains the only significant diplomatic breakthrough in the seven-month-old conflict.

Ankara’s relations with Russia are complex, with the two countries cooperating closely on energy supplies while being at odds over Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan.

Read more:

Russia’s Putin says all infrastructure at risk after Nord Stream hit