Moscow expects Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will “officially” offer to mediate negotiations with Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said.
“The Turks are offering their mediation. If any talks take place, then most likely they will be on their territory: in Istanbul or Ankara,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
“Erdogan will probably propose something officially” during Thursday’s talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
Turkey has good relations with Russia and Ukraine and has refrained from joining Western sanctions on Moscow.
“Turkey on principle does not join the illegal sanctions of the West. And this position of Turkey gives an additional impetus for the expansion of trade and economic cooperation,” Ushakov said.