JAKARTA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is concerned about the development of the Russia-Ukraine war, planning to speak with two of his colleagues, President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky today.
President Erdogan is known to be one of the most active heads of state in trying to defuse the conflict between the two countries, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
"We dreamed that this war between Russia and Ukraine would end peacefully as soon as possible, but it seems that events are developing negatively every day," he said, quoted by TASS and NTV, May 30.
"On Monday, I will have telephone talks with both (President) Russia and (President) Ukraine. We will continue to urge both sides to use channels of dialogue and diplomacy," said President Erdogan.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to TASS on Sunday evening that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plan to hold telephone talks on May 30.
"Yes," said the spokesman for the Russian presidency, responding to a question about whether such contact was expected on Monday.
The last telephone talks between Putin and Erdogan took place on April 26 and April 28. As the Kremlin press office reported, the presidents of the two countries discussed, in particular, the efforts of the Russian side to ensure the safety of civilians in Ukraine, including the opening of evacuation corridors. President Putin also briefed his Turkish counterpart on how the Russia-Ukraine talks were going.
Regarding Turkey's rejection of Sweden and Finland's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), President Erdoan said Russia also did not support it.
"Of course, Russia will not look positively at these things (accession by Sweden and Finland to NATO]. Russia is, first of all, concerned about the Finnish issue. Why? Because it is a border country and that's why it doesn't support NATO membership in Finland," he said.
"In fact, Russia does not support the accession of Scandinavian countries to NATO," said President Erdogan.
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