ANKARA — Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for an urgent general ceasefire in Ukraine when
he spoke on Sunday to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by telephone, Erdogan's
office said.
اضافة اعلان
The two heads of state spoke ahead of a
diplomatic forum in Turkey on March 11–13 that Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart are due to attend.
Turkey hopes to organize a meeting between
the two.
"An urgent general ceasefire would make
it easier to find a political solution and respond to humanitarian
concerns," Erdogan said.
He urged Putin to allow the creation of
"urgent" humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, saying he and the Russian
leader could "open the way of peace together".
He told Putin that
Ankara was "prepared
to contribute in all possible ways towards a peaceful resolution (of the
crisis)".
Official Turkish media said the conversation
lasted an hour.
Turkey is conducting a delicate balancing
act.
On the one hand, it is a member of
NATO and
an ally of Ukraine. On the other, it needs to maintain good relations with
Russia, on which it depends heavily for imports.
Erdogan has offered on several occasions to
host talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
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