Turkish presidential spokesman: Erdogan intends to talk to Putin and Zelensky on January 4
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to speak to his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky by phone on January 4. This was reported by a representative of the Turkish leader Ibrahim Kalin on NTV.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Interfax that Putin is planning talks with Erdogan on Wednesday.
Erdogan has spoken to Putin and Zelensky 15 times each since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine. Of world leaders, only his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko has spoken to the Russian president more often, and French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken to Zelensky.
The Russian president last got in touch with Erdogan on December 11. The leaders discussed “issues of expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields” and noted an increase in trade turnover. The heads of state exchanged views on the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey. Putin “outlined his principal assessments of the situation around Ukraine,” and the presidents talked about the Istanbul agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports.
Afterwards, Erdogan called Zelensky. They discussed, in particular, the work of grain corridors.
On 13 December, Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin met with Erdogan in Ankara. He gave the Turkish president “words of welcome” from Putin.