ANKARA, January 7. /TASS/. Turkey hopes that a ceasefire declared by Russia along the entire line of combat engagement in Ukraine will be extended, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday.

According to him, Ankara is ready to exert the utmost effort for launching dialogue in order to stop the hostilities. "In our opinion, the ceasefire should be in effect not for 36 hours but longer. There has not yet been a joint decision on the matter by the sides which is indicative of a dead end for the conflicting sides," the A Haber TV channel quoted him as saying.

The official said that in the near future Turkey would continue efforts on ensuring a ceasefire in the vicinity of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. "Ankara strives to prevent clashes and accidents in that zone," he noted.

The presidential spokesman did not rule out Ukraine joining the ceasefire as well as a possible meeting between negotiators from both sides, reiterating the Istanbul consultations last March.

In his opinion, the continued conflict is fraught with new destruction and casualties and "the idea of dialogue should be supported both by Russia and Ukraine and NATO and the US as well.".