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Putin-Zelensky meeting currently not in the cards, says presidential adviser

The Turkish president has repeatedly suggested Turkey as a platform for talks between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine

ANKARA, October 18. /TASS/. A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky is not possible yet, though Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to organize their talks in his country remains in effect, chief adviser to the Turkish president Ibrahim Kalin said during A Haber TV broadcast on Tuesday.

"Our president's proposal is still on the table," Kalin stressed. However, he said, following the decision to hold referendums in the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, Putin looks at this prospect negatively, and the Ukrainian side for its part said "that it will not negotiate until the end of the annexation."

"Turkey is the only country making an effort for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine," Kalin added, expressing the view that the conflict in Ukraine would likely drag on.

Erdogan has repeatedly suggested Turkey as a platform for talks between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. The settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and Ankara's mediation mission in this process were discussed at a meeting between Erdogan and Putin in Astana on October 13.