Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “Putin is much softer now and more open to dialogue than before” about ending the war in Ukraine.
“We are not without hope,” Erdogan said of the possibility of negotiations. “I saw that Putin is much softer now and more open to dialogue than before. We’ll see what happens.”
The Turkish president emphasized that he hopes to hold talks with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine in the near future.
The Kremlin, however, said that a new telephone conversation between Putin and Erdogan is not currently in the Russian president’s plans, but that “it can be organized quickly.”
Regarding Erdogan’s words that Putin has softened and is open to dialogue more than before, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov says that Putin has been open to talks with Ukraine from the beginning.
“If you remember, President Putin tried to start talks with NATO and the United States even before the special military operation.
“Putin was open to negotiations when a document was almost agreed between Russian and Ukrainian [negotiators]. So, in this regard, nothing has changed. The Ukrainian side’s position has changed… Ukrainian law now prohibits any negotiations.”