Top Russian, Turkish diplomats to discuss resuming Russia-Ukraine peace talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Moscow said on Tuesday that the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers will discuss the resumption of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Turkish capital Ankara.

In a statement on its official website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the two top diplomats will also discuss the condition and prospects of the Russia-Türkiye relations.

The ministry noted that the Russian-Turkish political dialogue has kept its high intensity since the beginning of the year as the presidents of the two countries have spoken over the phone nine times, while the foreign ministers apart from a phone conversation had a personal meeting in Türkiye's Mediterranean province of Antalya on March 16.

The contacts are also maintained at other levels and in different formats, including within the Russian-Turkish intergovernmental commission on economic and trade cooperation, it added.

"At the meeting, the foreign ministers will synchronize watches on the situation in Ukraine, Transcaucasia, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, and the Black Sea region.

"The ministers will exchange views on the current state of affairs in the Ukrainian crisis and prospects for the resumption of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. The Russian side will inform the Turkish colleagues about the progress of the special military operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and the steps taken to ensure the safety of civilians," the ministry said.

Thanks to the close Russia-Türkiye cooperation, the Astana format -- the platform comprising Iran, Russia, and Türkiye on Syria -- continues to be an effective mechanism for the Syrian settlement, it also said.

"The ministers will discuss the agenda of the next international meeting on Syria, which is to be held in June this year in (Kazakhstan's capital) Nur-Sultan, and assess the results of the eighth session of the inter-Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva on May 28-June 4," the statement noted.