ANKARA, March 12. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he hopes that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will pay a visit to his country after municipal elections in Turkey scheduled for March 31.

"We continue our dialogue with both of our Black Sea neighbors. Last Friday (on March 8 - TASS), we received Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Istanbul. And after the elections [in Turkey] we will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin," he said at a Ramadan iftar dinner, addressing foreign ambassadors.

Erdogan also said that peace plans for the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict that do not take into account Russia's position will not work.

"We have demonstrated considerable efforts to find ways to peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While supporting the principle of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, we also say that any peace plans that do not include Russia will be ineffective," the president said.

Erdogan said Turkey is "working to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and guarantee the safe implementation of the grain trade."

"We will continue our efforts to establish peace between Russia and Ukraine. We also believe that any steps that could escalate conflicts in the region and spread them to NATO should be avoided," Erdogan added.