Lavrov: Erdoğan, Putin to meet in Astana this week

 Photo: AA/File

Presidents of Türkiye and Russia will meet in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana this week, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced today (October 11).

Asked about Türkiye's initiative to organize talks between Russia and the West during an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel, Lavrov said Ankara may raise the issue at the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Astana is hosting the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building measures in Asia, and a formal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Thursday and Friday respectively.

Having avoided joining western sanctions on Russia, Türkiye has undertaken the role of a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the war in late February.

On July 22, Russia and Ukraine separately signed agreements with Türkiye and the United Nations to secure grain exports from Ukraine's ports.

In late September, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 200 prisoners, again, in a deal brokered by Türkiye.

President Erdoğan has repeatedly expressed his willingness to host peace talks between the leaders of the two countries. (VK)