Complained about the "destructive line" of Kiev: Putin spoke with Erdogan Phone
At the same time, Putin complained to Erdogan about the "destructive line of Kiev regime", the Kremlin press service said. According to the Russian leader, the Ukrainian side did not accept Moscow's proposal to "stop fire" to celebrate Christmas. According to the President of the Russian Federation, Kyiv allegedly relied on "intensification of hostilities" with the support of Western partners, which only increase the volume of military equipment supplied by the Armed Forces.
Among other things, the presidents discussed the issues of Russian-Ukrainian exchange of prisoners of war, including wounded. "In particular, at the initiative of the Turkish side and taking into account recent contacts in Ankara and Ukraine's Human Rights, the issue of the exchange of prisoners, primarily wounded," the press service said.
The Turkish Anadolu Agency, citing the Presidential Presidential Communications Office, writes that Erdogan has again offered Putin his mediation in the issue of peace talks with the Ukrainian side. During the telephone conversation of the presidents, the topic of implementation of Istanbul agreements on the removal of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports of the country was also broken.
"On both sides, the attachment for the further complex development of Russian-Turkish cooperation is confirmed," the Kremlin's press service added. The priority issues were called interaction in the energy sphere, including the supply of Russian gas and the creation of a gas hub in Turkey. Today's negotiations of Erdogan and Putin are not the first 2023. Presidents of Turkey and Russia have already communicated with the phone on January 5.