President Erdogan Emphasizes Importance Of Ceasefire To President Putin, Russia-Ukraine Talks Continue In Istanbul

President Vladimir Putin with President Erdogan. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Official website of the President of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have agreed to arrange for the next round of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, Turkey's presidential office said on Sunday after a phone call between the two.

"During the talks, the presidents discussed the latest developments in the Russo-Ukrainian war and the negotiation process. President Erdogan and President Putin agreed to arrange the next meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul," the presidential office said, TASS reported March 28.

Furthermore, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, his country would continue mediation efforts to build peace between Russia and Ukraine.

"President Erdogan stressed the need to reach a ceasefire and peace between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, and improve the humanitarian situation in the region. He added that Turkey will continue to make its contribution to this process," the office said.

Meanwhile, Russian Assistant to the President Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation to the talks, wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday that a regular round of online talks with Ukraine was held on Sunday. The two sides, in his words, agreed to meet offline on March 29-30.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia also said the next round of face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia would take place in Turkey on March 28-30.

For information, the first round of Russian-Ukrainian talks was held in the Gomel region of Belarus on February 28. The talks lasted five hours. The second round of talks was held on March 3 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in Belarus. Delegates meet for the third round of talks on March 7, in the Brest region, also in Belarus. More rounds are held in an online format.