ANKARA, August 21. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that he was ready to implement any initiatives aimed for peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, Turkey’s presidential Directorate of Communications said in a statement on Thursday.
"The call, held at the request of the French side, addressed the bilateral relations between Turkey and France, as well as the latest regional and global developments, particularly the Russia-Ukraine peace process and the current situation in Gaza," the statement reads.
"Drawing attention to Turkey’s ongoing efforts for the termination of the Ukraine-Russia war with a just peace, President Erdogan said that he is closely following the talks in Alaska and Washington, DC," the statement continued.
"President Erdogan stated that Turkey stands ready to host every initiative concerning the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia," the Turkish presidential press office noted.
On August 20, Turkish leader Erdogan held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and discussed the outcome of the Russia-US Summit in Alaska last week.
The statement also stated that Turkish president also pointed out to the French leader an importance of settling an ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
"Noting that Turkey has been endeavoring for the establishment of ceasefire in Gaza, where a major humanitarian tragedy is taking place, President Erdogan stressed that it is imperative to rein in the recklessness displayed by Israel, which has expedited its plans to occupy Gaza," the Turkish presidential press office stated.
"Drawing attention to the importance Turkey attaches to expanding the cooperation with France, President Erdogan added that they will continue to take steps to advance the relations in many areas, particularly defense industry," the statement added.
Russia-US Alaska Summit
On August 15, a meeting between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump took place at a military base in Alaska. The meeting lasted about three hours: there was a one-on-one discussion in the American leader’s limousine on the way to the main venue for the talks and a narrow "three-on-three" meeting.
The Russian side was also represented by Presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
In a statement to the press following the talks, Putin said that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was the main topic of the summit.
The Russian leader also called for turning the page in bilateral relations and resuming cooperation, and invited Trump to Moscow. For his part, the US president announced the progress made in the talks, but noted that the parties had not managed to reach an agreement.
On August 18, US President Donald Trump received Vladimir Zelensky, presidents of Finland and France Alexander Stubb and Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer, Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, and the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni.
In addition, the meeting was attended by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. According to Macron, the talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Turkey’s mediating role
On July 23, the Turkish city of Istanbul hosted the third round of Russia-Ukraine talks on resolving the conflict. Prior to an expanded meeting, the heads of the two countries’ delegations, Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, held a bilateral meeting. The expanded talks lasted about 40 minutes, with the parties discussing the positions they had set out in draft memorandums.
At the meeting, the parties agreed to exchange civilians along with service members. Russia invited Ukraine to set up three online working groups to address political, military and humanitarian issues. In addition, Moscow offered to transfer the bodies of another 3,000 Ukrainian troops to Kiev and resume short humanitarian pauses on the frontline in order to collect the wounded and the dead.
A decision on the fourth round of talks will be made after the new agreements are implemented, Medinsky said.