Moscow says discussing potential meeting with Kyiv in Turkey pointless now
Moscow is grateful to Turkey for its proposal to host Russia-Ukraine talks with the UN as a mediator, yet discussing the initiative is pointless now, TASS cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Friday.
"Any thoughts about mediation for peace always count, yet I find discussing even in theory a response to the initiative pointless right now," the Russian diplomat said, commenting on the proposal by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to invite Moscow and Kyiv for talks in Istanbul with UN mediation.
In a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the Turkish leader said he could arrange a meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul and was ready "to play a role in a potential monitoring mechanism if any agreement in principle is reached between the two sides", his office reported.
Russia and Ukraine last met for talks in Istanbul on March 29, when Moscow acknowledged progress in its dialogue with Kiev that has since been stalled over Ukraine’s position.