The President of Turkey expressed hope that the leaders of the two countries «will take steps towards Crimea and Donbas» ; at future negotiations.
The meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia, Vladimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, may take place in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated this on Friday, April 1, during a conversation with reporters, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Focus.
The Turkish leader said that yesterday he had a telephone conversation with Zelensky, and already today at about 16:00 he will talk with Putin. According to a quote cited by Russian journalists, Erdogan expressed the hope that after consultations with the heads of state, they will be able to «take steps, especially with regard to Crimea and Donbas».
«At Mr. Zelensky a positive opinion, I hope that Mr. Putin will have a positive one too. If we can hold a summit in Istanbul so that they decide to turn the negative trend into a positive one, then we will be very happy,” Erdogan said.
On March 31, Zelensky tweeted after negotiations with his Turkish counterpart that the parties «agreed on further steps towards achieving peace». The head of the Ukrainian state also thanked Turkey for its readiness to become a guarantor of Ukraine's security.