Turkish Leader Erdogan Offers Help End Russia-Ukraine War as He Meets Putin in Astana

JAKARTA - President Tayyip Erdogan told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Ankara could help end the Ukraine-Russia war, but a Kremlin spokesman said the Turkish leader could not play a mediator role in the 28-month-old conflict.

Erdogan's talks with Putin took place on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, and he believed a just peace for both sides was possible, the Turkish presidency said.

But Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, ruled out any mediator role for the Turkish leader.

"No, it's impossible," Peskov said when asked by a Russian television interviewer if President Erdogan could take on such a role, TASS reported on July 4, though he did not explain why the Kremlin opposed Erdogan's participation.

The Turkish president said the two leaders also discussed the war in Gaza and ways to end the conflict in Syria.

Turkey is a member of NATO, the Western military alliance led by the United States.

Unlike other NATO leaders, who have imposed sanctions on Putin's government, Erdogan has sought to maintain good relations with Russia and Ukraine during the conflict.

Previously, Turkey played a key role in striking a deal to ensure wheat could be safely shipped from Ukraine's Black Sea ports. The deal is valid for one year.