Erdogan urges Putin to declare Ukraine ceasefire and make peace

Turkey says it wants to bring together foreign ministers from Ukraine and Russia for talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 3. Reuters

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine, open humanitarian corridors and reach a peace deal, his office said.

Nato member Turkey shares a maritime border with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and has good relations with both.

Ankara has called Russia's incursion unacceptable and offered to host talks, but it has opposed sanctions against Moscow.

The Turkish presidency said that after a one-hour phone call, Mr Erdogan told Mr Putin that Ankara was ready to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"President Erdogan, who said an immediate ceasefire will not only ease humanitarian concerns in the region but also give the search for a political solution an opportunity, renewed his call of 'let's pave the way for peace together'," his office said.

"Erdogan emphasised the importance of taking urgent steps to achieve a ceasefire, open humanitarian corridors and sign a peace agreement."

The Kremlin said Mr Putin told Mr Erdogan that Russia would halt its military operation only if Ukraine stopped fighting and if Moscow's demands were met. It said the operation was going to plan.

Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters

A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP

Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters

A man flees from Irpin. Reuters

A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP

People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters

A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP

A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images

A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP

A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP

Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA

People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA

First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP

A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP

A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo

People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo

Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP

A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA

Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo

A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo

Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo

Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo

Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo

Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo

A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo

A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo

Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

Russia calls its assault a "special military operation". It has uprooted more than 1.5 million people in what the UN says is the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

Turkey has said it would be "naive" to expect results from the Ukraine-Russia negotiations while fighting continues.

Defence Minister Hulusi Akar later spoke to his Ukrainian equivalent Oleksii Reznikov by phone and told him that a ceasefire, even for a limited time, was urgently needed for safe civilian evacuations and aid shipments, his ministry said.

It said Mr Akar had also conveyed Turkey's expectation that the safety of Turks not yet moved out of Ukraine was ensured.

Mr Erdogan, who has called Mr Putin a "friend", had last spoken to the Russian leader on February 23, a day before Russia launched its incursion.

The call makes him the third Nato leader to speak to Mr Putin since his offensive, after the leaders of Germany and France.

While forging close ties with Russia on defence, trade and energy, and hosting millions of Russian tourists every year, Turkey has also sold drones to Ukraine, angering Moscow.

It also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Ankara has said it wants to bring together foreign ministers from Ukraine and Russia for talks at a diplomacy forum next week in southern Turkey.

Both countries have welcomed the offer, but Turkey says it is unclear whether they will be able to attend.