Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to announce a “unilateral” ceasefire in the war-ravaged Ukraine.
“President Erdogan said that calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a vision for a fair solution,” Erdogan’s office quoted the Turkish president as saying during a telephonic conversation with Putin.
Later on Thursday, the Turkish president was scheduled to hold a separate meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Erdogan has been trying to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv, as he shares good relations with both countries, to end the war.
Two initial rounds of peace talks were hosted by Turkey as the nation helped finalise an UN-supported agreement for restoring the delivery of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.
Repeated attempts have been made by Erdogan to invite both Zelensky and Putin to Ankara for a peace summit.
The appeal for a ‘unilateral’ ceasefire was made by Erdogan after Russia’s spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill had earlier on Thursday called for an Orthodox Christmas truce.
“I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, appeal to all the parties involved in the internecine conflict to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12.00 on January 6 until 24.00 on January 7 so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” he stated.
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President Erdogan has maintained good ties with Putin by not joining the West in imposing sanctions on Russia and increasing bilateral trade amid the ongoing war.
Now the two leaders have tentative plans of establishing a natural gas hub in Ankara which can provide an alternate way to Russia for supplying Europe with fuel.
The office of President Erdogan stated that Ankara “has strengthened and will continue to strengthen the infrastructure” of the proposed hub. Both the leaders hope to “implement (the project) as soon as possible”, stated Erdogan’s office.
(With inputs from agencies)
