MINSK, May 12. /TASS/. Belarus hopes that the potential talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul will lead to an end to the conflict, Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said.

"There must be a chance [for peace] and all of us hope for peace. This is the most important thing and this is what people are concerned about now," he said in an interview on national television when asked about his expectations from the upcoming meeting in Turkey.

"Russia is talking about peace, is taking the first steps and wants to sign a serious agreement," he said.

According to the Belarusian security chief, Ukraine has shown that it cannot decide anything by itself, as he further suggested that Ukraine will do "what the Europeans tell it to do." He also implored Europe to weigh the gravity of the situation. "Because the conflict in Ukraine is no longer a spark, but a full-blown fire that could engulf the whole of Europe," Volfovich warned.

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume the direct talks they broke off in 2022 without any preliminary conditions. He proposed to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. The Russian leader recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.