The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey will meet in southern Turkey on Thursday, Ankara has announced as the war in Ukraine intensified, Agence France-Presse reported.
Turkey has sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and offered on several occasions to host talks.
“God willing, we will hold this meeting at a trilateral format in Antalya on Thursday” on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Monday in comments published in the official Anadolu news agency.
The announcement of the meeting comes after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held phone talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts.
“Upon President @RTErdogan’s initiatives and our intensive diplomatic efforts, Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia & Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine have decided to meet with my participation on the margins of @AntalyaDF,” Çavuşoğlu tweeted.
“Hope this step will lead to peace and stability,” he commented.
Turkey is a member of NATO and an ally of Ukraine. But it seeks to maintain good relations with Russia, on which it depends heavily for imports.