After meeting with Putin, Erdoğan talks to Zelenskyy

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he had a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy after meeting with the dictator of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The politician's words on board his plane on his way back from China, reports Reuters.

Erdoğan said that during his conversations with Putin and Zelenskyy, he discussed ways to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the parties are "not yet ready" for a meeting at the level of leaders.

Erdoğan also noted that the talks that have taken place in recent months between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul showed that the path to peace remains open.

The Turkish leader noted that his country is in favor of "raising the level of negotiations gradually" in order to turn hopes for peace into concrete results.

The politician added that any initiative will eventually need to be worked out at the level of leaders, although the conditions for this are not yet in place.

Turkish president met with Putin on September 1 on the sidelines of the summit Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Ukraine has not officially reported on Zelenskyy's new conversation with Erdoğan. Earlier, on August 28, the presidents of the two countries discussed security guarantees for Kyiv. On the night of that day, the Russians launched a missile strike on the Turkish defense plant Baykar in Kyiv region.

• On August 22, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready for "any meetings with the leaders" but the occupiers are doing everything to prevent the summit with Putin from taking place.
• On August 30, US president Trump said that a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin would take place, but with its participation in a trilateral format.