Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed initiatives for a political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine by phone, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
“An exchange of views took place on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis, including a discussion of initiatives for a political settlement of the conflict in Ukraine“, the text notes.
The telephone conversation between the heads of the foreign ministries of the two countries took place on the eve of Fidan's two-day visit to Kiev starting on Thursday, where he intends to discuss issues for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
Fidan was on a working visit to Moscow on May 26-27, where he was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also held talks with Presidential Advisor Vladimir Medinsky and Lavrov. The head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the republic's readiness to accept a new round of talks on Ukraine and facilitate a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
Earlier on Wednesday, Lavrov said that the Russian delegation, led by Medinsky, was ready to present Ukraine with a memorandum from Russia on all aspects of overcoming the root causes of the crisis on June 2 in Istanbul.
On May 16, direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. After the meeting, Moscow and Kiev agreed to exchange prisoners of war on the principle of “a thousand for a thousand“, to present their vision of a possible future ceasefire, outlining it in detail, and to continue the negotiation process.