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Putin-Erdogan call to clarify Turkey’s role in Moscow-Kiev dialogue — Defense Minister

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed that Ankara is following the situation in Ukraine closely and is ready to help in the resolution of existing issues

ANKARA, December 2. /TASS/. Turkey expects the matter of its mediation in the settlement of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia to be clarified after the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled for December 3, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday.

"We have already made a very important contribution to the development of relations between Russia and Ukraine earlier. What the new perspectives [of aiding in the normalization of relations] will be, we will find out tomorrow after the talks of the two leaders," he told NTV.

He confirmed that Ankara is following the situation in Ukraine closely and is ready to help in the resolution of existing issues.

"We advocate that all problems and conflict situations between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea Region were resolved via dialogue and diplomacy. Our president keeps repeating it. He has a conversation with Vladimir Putin planned for tomorrow. The conversation will focus on Russian-Ukrainian relations," he said.

Speaking about the interaction between Ankara and Moscow in Syria, Akar pointed out that "there are problems remaining in Idlib," related to attacks that Turkey holds "the Bashar Assad regime" responsible for.

"However, after the negotiations between Erdogan and Putin [in September], the ceasefire regime has been largely restored. We register an impressive reduction in the number of violations. Overall, our relations on the Syrian issue have become much easier and develop in a better format," he said.

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the leaders of Russia and Turkey may have a phone call on December 3, during which they may discuss Ukraine. Commenting on Erdogan’s statement of readiness to become a mediator in the settlement of Russian-Ukrainian relations, Peskov noted that it will depend on what exactly such mediation will encompass.

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