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Erdogan announces intention to hold phone talks with Putin, Zelensky on May 30

"We dream that this war between Russia and Ukraine will end in a peace as soon as possible but it seems that the events are developing negatively with every passing day" - Turkish leader said
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Vladimir Smirnov/TASS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

ANKARA, May 29. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention on Sunday to hold telephone talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky on May 30.

"Of course, Russia will not look positively at these things [accession by Sweden and Finland to NATO]. Russia is, first of all, concerned over the Finnish issue. Why? Because this is a border country and that is why it does not support Finland’s NATO membership. In actual fact, Russia did not support the accession of any of the Scandinavian countries to NATO," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the NTV television channel in an interview with Turkish journalists upon his return from a trip to Azerbaijan.

"We dream that this war between Russia and Ukraine will end in a peace as soon as possible but it seems that the events are developing negatively with every passing day. On Monday, I will have telephone talks both with [the president of] Russia and [the president of] Ukraine. We will continue urging the sides to use the channels of dialogue and diplomacy," the Turkish leader said.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to TASS later on Sunday that Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan were planning to hold a phone talk on May 30.

"Yes," the Russian presidential spokesman said, responding to a question about whether such a contact was expected on Monday.

The latest telephone talks between Putin and Erdogan took place on April 26 and April 28. As the Kremlin’s press office reported, the presidents of both countries discussed, in particular, the Russian side’s efforts to ensure the security of civilians in Ukraine, including the opening of evacuation corridors. Putin also informed his Turkish counterpart of how the Russia-Ukraine talks proceeded.