Turkey offers to host more Ukraine talks

Turkey’s top diplomat says Ankara is working to bring the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers together again for talks, reports AFP.

In an interview with Turkey’s A Haber channel, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the meeting could happen within two weeks.

His comments came days after Turkey hosted Ukrainian and Russian negotiators for face-to-face talks in Istanbul. Cavusoglu said decisions taken during the talks had not fully been put into effect on the ground.

“After this meeting some decisions were taken, especially concerning the reduction of tensions,” Cavusoglu said. “But we do not see these decisions being reflected on the field - for example, the removal of Russian soldiers from some areas.”

Asked about the presence of sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in the negotiations, Cavusoglu said the businessman was engaged in “useful” efforts to end the fighting.

“Abramovich has been sincerely making efforts to end the fighting since the first day of the war,” he said.

During the talks in Istanbul Tuesday, Ukraine set out a detailed framework for a peace deal under which the country would remain neutral but its security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland.