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Erdogan intends to hold talks with Putin and Zelensky in the near future

The Turkish president also said that he hoped he would be able to arrange a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine

ANKARA, October 21. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he wanted to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky in the near future, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Friday.

"I saw that Mr. Putin is much softer and more open to dialogue now than in the past. We’ll see what results the telephone talks we are to have in the coming days will yield, we will listen to both leaders," Erdogan told Turkish reporters aboard a plane returning from Azerbaijan, where he attended an airport opening ceremony.

The Turkish president also said that he hoped he would be able to arrange a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. "We hope to continue the path to peace by bringing the two leaders together. <...> I believe that peace makes no losers," he added.

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.