Turkish presidential adviser meets Zelenskyy for talks

Turkey’s presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, has met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Mr Kalin, who also serves as special adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was accompanied by deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal on Saturday, the Turkish presidential office said.

Turkey says it is trying to mediate between Ukraine and Russia to end the war.

It hosted a meeting in Istanbul between negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv, and another between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya in March.

But the talks stalled when mass civilian casualties were discovered in Bucha, near Kyiv, after Russian troops pulled back from an attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital.

Mr Erdogan now wants to host talks in Istanbul between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelenskyy.

Lower-level negotiations between the two sides have occurred previously, but without any breakthrough.

Mr Putin told UN chief Antonio Guterres in Moscow that he held out hope for negotiations to end the war.

“Despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track,” Mr Putin told Mr Guterres in televised remarks during the visit.

“We are negotiating. We do not reject talks.”