Erdoğan, Putin discuss Ukraine peace in phone call

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss the war in Ukraine, regional security and bilateral ties.

Erdoğan informed Putin that Türkiye would support a process involving "all parties" for peace in Ukraine, the Turkish presidency said.

Erdogan told Putin that "Türkiye has sincerely strived for a just peace since the beginning of the war, and in this context, supports approaches aimed at establishing lasting peace with the participation of all parties," presidency said in a statement.

Putin briefed Erdoğan on his recent summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, the Kremlin said. The two leaders also discussed developing trade and investment between their countries.

A day earlier, Erdoğan spoke with Rutte following the NATO chief’s return from a Ukraine summit in Washington. The two reviewed “the latest developments in the Ukraine-Russia peace process and underlined the urgent need for diplomatic initiatives to create lasting stability," Türkiye's Communications Directorate said on X.

Both Erdoğan and Rutte emphasized Türkiye's role as a mediator, pointing to its past involvement in peace initiatives. They also discussed Ankara’s position as one of NATO’s most influential members in promoting dialogue and regional security.

The two leaders agreed to maintain close coordination on peace efforts and exchanged views on “effective and sustainable security guarantees” that could support any future agreement between Kiev and Moscow, the statement said.

Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders at the White House on Aug. 18 for talks on security guarantees for Ukraine and paths to end the conflict.

Istanbul hosted three rounds of renewed peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, with the last taking place on July 23.

At a news conference following the talks, Rustem Umerov, the head of Kiev's delegation, said that the delegations discussed the priorities of both sides during their meeting.

For his part, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow suggested forming three online working groups, each of them addressing different subject areas — political, humanitarian and military.

During the first round of talks held in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace, both sides reached what was then the largest prisoner swap of the over three-year-long conflict in Ukraine, which involved 1,000 prisoners from each side.

The delegations also agreed that both Moscow and Kiev will present each other with their vision of a future peace deal through peace memoranda.

Another round of peace talks held this time in Istanbul’s Çırağan Palace after two weeks resulted in both sides agreeing to exchange additional prisoners of war, prioritizing the youngest and most severely wounded.

Moscow and Kiev also conducted an exchange of memoranda, as agreed on during the first round of negotiations.

Following the talks, Erdoğan offered to hold a summit involving the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, as well as the U.S., turning Istanbul into a "center of peace."