ANKARA, November 24. /TASS/. Ankara is ready to provide Moscow with all of the assistance regarding initiatives that would help to pave the way for direct contacts between Ukraine and Russia regarding the Ukrainian conflict settlement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
"President Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin," the Turkish president’s press office announced in a statement.
"Bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia, the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as regional and global issues were discussed during the their [telephone] conversation," the statement continued.
"Our President stated that Turkey keeps standing ready to contribute to all diplomatic initiatives and promote plans that will facilitate direct contacts between the parties and pave the way for lasting peace in our region," according to the Turkish president press office’s statement.
The statement also added that during the talks, Erdogan reiterated that "Turkey will continue to exert efforts to put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict by achieving a just and lasting peace."
Erdogan also noted that he is "closely following the contacts [between Russia and the US] in Alaska and [between the US, Ukraine, and Europe] in Washington."
US-Ukraine talks in Geneva
On November 23, delegations from the US and Ukraine agreed on most of Washington's proposed 28-point peace plan at a meeting in Geneva, the RBC-Ukraine news agency reported. According to it, the provisions regarding the size of the Ukrainian armed forces, prisoner exchanges, and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant have been agreed upon. RBC-Ukraine did not provide the new wording of these provisions.
Several provisions were left for discussion at the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky. These include Ukraine's renunciation of part of its territory and enshrining its refusal to join NATO in the Ukrainian Constitution. The date of the meeting between Trump and Zelensky to finalize the remaining provisions of the plan has not yet been determined, though it is provisionally scheduled for this or next week.
On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "President Trump's peace plan to settle the situation in Ukraine was discussed before the meeting in Alaska." However, after the meeting in Anchorage, there was a pause, which was linked to Kiev's rejection of the proposals. This is probably why a revised 28-point plan was created. According to Putin, Russia "has this text..., and it can be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement."