Turkish leader speaks to Putin, asks him to meet Zelensky

Turkey’s president says he renewed a call for a meeting between leaders of Ukraine and Russia in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A statement from Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office says he and Putin also discussed the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia that were held in Istanbul earlier in the week.

Erdogan’s office says the Turkish leader told Putin that the Istanbul talks had “raised hopes for peace.” Erdogan says Turkey wanted to cap off those efforts by bringing Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky together, according to the statement.

The statement says Erdogan told Putin that it was important for the sides “to act with common sense and to maintain the dialogue.”

During the call, Putin thanked Erdogan for hosting the meeting between the delegations, according to Erdogan’s office.

Earlier, Erdogan says Zelensky was willing to participate in a leaders’ meeting to be hosted by Turkey.