Turkish Foreign Minister visits Putin. Will travel to Ukraine at the end of the week – Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 26, the country's foreign ministry said. Fidan is expected to meet with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv later this week, Reuters reports.
As the news agency was told by an interlocutor at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, at the meeting they discussed efforts to end the war in Ukraine and further developments after direct negotiations in Istanbul.
Bilateral economic and energy issues were also discussed.
The Hürriyet newspaper reports that their meeting was closed to the press and lasted about an hour.
Also during the visit, Fidan met with the Board of Directors of the Russian-Turkish Businessmen Association at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow.
During the trip, the Turkish Foreign Minister also stressed Turkey's commitment to "a just and lasting peace in a full-scale war and confirmed the country's readiness to become a mediator in a new round of negotiations," the journalists note.
As part of a two-day visit, Fidan is expected to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on May 27.
It is also noted that Fidan will visit Kyiv at the end of this week to meet with Ukrainian officials and continue negotiations in Istanbul.
According to interlocutors in Russia, they are considering Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman as potential locations for further negotiations.
- On May 16, Ukraine and Russia held talks in Istanbul – the only real agreement after the meeting was a major prisoner exchange .
- First Deputy Foreign Minister Kyslytsia confirmed that during the negotiations in Istanbul , the Russians did indeed demand that Ukraine cede four regions and threatened to occupy more if Kyiv did not agree to this .
- On May 26, Fidan met with Russian presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky . He led the Russian delegation at the talks between Russia and Ukraine that took place on May 16 in Istanbul.
