Turkish President, UN Chief Guterres discuss Ukraine crisis over phone

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the latter's visit to Russia over the phone.

Guterres on Wednesday briefed Erdogan about his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Turkey's Directorate of Communications said in a statement.

Before heading to Moscow and Kiev for talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the UN Secretary-General met with Turkish President in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Turkish leader had told Guterres that all parties should support the Istanbul process for a solution to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, according to the statement.

During a phone talk with Putin on Tuesday, Erdogan said the "continuation of the positive momentum achieved in the Istanbul talks" to reach peace in Ukraine is in everyone's interest.

On Sunday, the Turkish President said his country is ready to provide all possible assistance for the negotiation process when having a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A round of face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine was held in Istanbul in March.

--IANS

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