Erdoğan says he may call Putin, Trump to push for peace talks

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 25 he might talk with Russian and U.S. leaders, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, over the phone this week to bring them together for talks amid ongoing efforts to mediate the war in Ukraine.

"We will try to talk with Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump again this week to see if we can bring them together in Istanbul," Erdoğan told reporters.

His comments followed the third round of peace talks held on July 23 between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, where both sides agreed on a new prisoner exchange involving at least 1,200 people from each side.

Erdoğan said he spoke with Putin by phone after meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Türkiye. "We asked for his support," he said.

The meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Çırağan Palace lasted less than an hour.

After the talks, Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, said Kiev had proposed a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by late August.

Umerov said Russian acceptance of the proposal would demonstrate “constructive engagement to all partners” and Kiev expects “further progress” on the exchange of prisoners between the two countries.

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, said Russia suggested forming three online working groups to address different areas of the conflict: Political, humanitarian and military.