Erdogan and Putin agree to host a new round of negotiations in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Istanbul will host the next meeting for the negotiations of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Sunday, that Istanbul would host the next meeting of negotiations for the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

This came in a telephone conversation between them, according to a statement issued by the Presidency of the Communication Department of the Turkish Presidency.

The statement indicated that Erdogan and Putin discussed, during the phone call, the latest developments related to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the course of negotiations between the two parties.

The statement added that Erdogan stressed the need for a ceasefire, the establishment of peace and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region as soon as possible.

Erdogan stressed that Turkey will continue to make all contributions, in order to achieve a ceasefire and peace between the two parties.

For his part, Ukrainian negotiator David Arkhamia said that the next round of talks with Russia will take place in Turkey from March 28-30.

On March 10, Turkey hosted a similar tour between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, in Antalya, but those talks did not result in any real progress.

Ukraine has described previous rounds of negotiations as "extremely difficult".

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of "tough" economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.

To end the operation, Russia requires Ukraine to abandon any plans to join military entities, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and to adhere to complete neutrality, which Kyiv considers an "interference in its sovereignty."