Russia and Ukraine are resuming negotiations in Turkey. “Stop This Tragedy,” Erdogan says

The official Turkish news agency said that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators began face-to-face discussions in Istanbul on Tuesday, with host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging them to “put a stop to this tragedy.”

The face-to-face discussions in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce palace are aimed at bringing the war to a conclusion, which has killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced more than 10 million.

“Both parties are concerned for valid reasons. It is possible to find an international community-acceptable solution “According to President Erdogan,

“It is up to the two parties to put an end to this tragedy,” he insisted, adding that “the conflict’s continuation is in no one’s interest.”

“The entire world is waiting for positive news from you,” he said.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian and Russian representatives.

Turkey previously held the first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers on March 10 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Those negotiations in Antalya, Turkey’s southernmost city, failed to generate a cease-fire or any other noticeable progress.

On Monday evening, President Erdogan stated that his country was the only one that has made serious efforts to resolve the situation via conversation, negotiation, and agreement since Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014.

Turkey, which shares a Black Sea coast with both Russia and Ukraine, is attempting to keep good relations with both and has volunteered to mediate since the beginning of the war.

Ankara is a long-standing friend of Kyiv, and it has supplied the country with Bayraktar drones, which Ukraine has used in the conflict.

But it also wants to maintain good relations with Russia, on which Turkey relies significantly for gas imports and tourism revenues.

Turkey is also collaborating with France and Greece on a “humanitarian mission” to remove civilians from the damaged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which has been bombarded by Russian forces.