Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional summit, a Turkish official told AFP Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that potential talks between Russia and the West might be discussed during the meeting. The leaders are both attending the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Last month, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.
NATO member Turkey has so far refrained from joining Western sanctions against Russia and instead attempted to play the role of a mediator, hosting talks with officials from Moscow and Kyiv and arbitrating a grain deal alongside the U.N. to ensure safe food exports out of blockaded Ukrainian ports. It has also supplied drones to Ukrainian forces. But it is also accused of war profiteering, helping others in the evasion of international embargoes for its own benefit.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday called for a cease-fire “as soon as possible,” after the Russian strikes across Ukraine on Monday, which killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 100.
Putin will also meet with UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday, according to Kremlin spokesman Peskov.
