President Erdogan Will Discuss Ukraine's Conflict With President Putin Today

President Erdogan's illustration with President Putin in Sochi. (Source: Presidency of The Republic of Turkey)

JAKARTA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would make a phone call with his Russian partner, President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss the conflict situation in Ukraine, including efforts to restore the Black Sea wheat corridor.

"Tomorrow (today) I will call (President) Putin," he said at a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, following the refusal from Kyiv and his allies on a draft plan that accepts several Russian hardline demands. November 24.

Earlier, United States President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until November 27 to approve Washington's latest peace proposal, in order to end the conflict that has lasted nearly four years.

President Erdogan said Turkey would make every effort to try and mediate the end of the conflict.

"So many people have died; I will discuss with (President Putin) what steps we can take to stop this death. After this discussion, I am sure I will have the opportunity to discuss the results with our European partners, (President) Trump and other friends," he explained.

Earlier, President Erdogan hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara on November 19. During the meeting he urged both parties in conflict to return to the negotiating table in Istanbul, where they had held three rounds of negotiations earlier this year.

In addition, President Erdogan will also discuss the opportunity to revive the Black Sea wheat corridor brokered by Turkey and the United Nations by 2022, in order to provide a safe route for Ukrainian wheat to be exported through the Black Sea.

The agreement runs for more than a year, before Russia withdrew on the grounds that a separate agreement to ease sanctions against its own agricultural exports was not implemented.

"The initiative of the wheat corridor is actually intended to pave the way for peace. Even though it worked to some extent, it did not continue. Now in tomorrow's meeting I will ask Mr. Putin again about this," Erdogan explained.

"I think it would be very useful if we could restart this process."

Turkey hosted the first Russian-Ukraine negotiations in March 2022, days after the war broke out on February 24, 2022, quoted by Anadolu.

Russia and Ukraine again held negotiations in Istanbul in May and July this year, which were able to agree on a large-scale war prisoner swap, but have not ended the conflict.