Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Russian and Ukrainian delegations to “put an end to this tragedy” as he hosted talks in Istanbul on Tuesday.
The face-to-face talks at the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul are aimed at trying to end a war has killed an estimated 20,000 people and forced more than 10 million from their homes.
It is the first time that the two countries’ delegations, who arrived in Turkey on Monday, met after several rounds of talks by videoconference.
“The two parties have legitimate concerns, it’s possible to reach a solution acceptable to the international community,” Erdogan said.
“It’s up to the two parties to put an end to this tragedy,” he insisted, adding that the “extension of the conflict is in no one’s interest.”
Turkey on March 10 hosted the first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers since the invasion of Ukraine last month in the southern Turkish city of Antalya.