Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that cooperation between Turkey and Russia is crucial to resolving regional conflicts, his office said.
"Cooperation between Turkey and Russia is crucial for the resolution of regional problems," he said after the talks, which touched on both the war in Ukraine and the situation in Syria.
The two leaders spoke about security in the Black Sea. Erdogan pledged that Ankara would take steps to ensure the "safety of commercial shipping", which would contribute to peace efforts, AFP reported.
The Kremlin confirmed that the two had exchanged views on "resuming the initiative for safe navigation in the Black Sea and removing obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports."
The initiative is an agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN in 2022 to ensure safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.
Moscow, however, pulled out of the deal in 2023, accusing the West of failing to ease sanctions that it said affected Russia's own agricultural and fertilizer exports.
The talks came a day after European countries agreed to step up sanctions against Russia over its three-year war in Ukraine, while Washington separately pursued its own peace initiative through direct talks with Moscow.
"Turkey is closely following the process initiated to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to provide any kind of support, including hosting the peace talks," Erdogan told Putin.
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the Russian invasion and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.
The Turkish president also stressed that it was "important that Turkey and Russia work together to ensure that Syria achieves lasting peace and stability."
Russia has been a key backer of Syria's recently ousted strongman leader Bashar al-Assad, offering him military support during the civil war while Turkey has backed rebels who opposed him.
Moscow is trying to build bridges with the new administration in Damascus, in particular to secure the fate of its military bases in the country. | BGNES
