Germany’s Olaf Scholz will visit Turkey for the first time in his chancellorship on Monday as the country emerges as a potential mediator in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported.
Scholz will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan followed by a joint press conference, the German chancellery said on Friday.
Turkey, a NATO member, has offered to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, whose troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Turkey on Thursday hosted the first direct talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, since the beginning of the conflict.
The two ministers failed to agree a ceasefire but pledged to continue the dialogue between their two countries.
Although an ally of Ukraine, which it supplies with combat drones, Ankara has also been careful to maintain relations with Russia, which it depends on for tourism, wheat and energy supplies.