Ankara, Nov 25 (UNI/SPUTNIK) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to step up “telephone diplomacy” in the coming days to facilitate the settlement of the Ukraine conflict, a Turkish diplomatic source told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Erdogan stated on Monday that following his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin he planned to discuss the Ukrainian agenda with foreign counterparts, including, if an opportunity arises, with US President Donald Trump.
“The President [Erdogan] indeed intends to hold [Erdogan] series of telephone conversations with his counterparts. The conversation with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin has already taken place, while the situation in Ukraine will be discussed at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the ruling Justice and Development Party. During upcoming contacts, the Turkish president plans to present his own vision of possible settlement paths and reaffirm Ankara’s readiness to act as [Erdogan] mediator,” the source said.
However, the diplomat stated that no exact date has been set yet for Erdogan’s conversation with Trump, and the information will be provided “in due course.”
Since last week the US has been promoting a new peace proposal for Ukraine and sent negotiators to Geneva on Sunday for talks with Ukraine. The original 28-point peace plan was subsequently revised down to 19 points, eliminating some of the initial proposals, such as downsizing Ukrainian armed forces, reducing US military aid and banning foreign military presence in Ukraine, as well as reportedly the recognition of Crimea and Donbas regions as Russian.
US media reported earlier in the day that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is meeting with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss the new plan. On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Trump’s new peace plan could form a basis for a final settlement in Ukraine.
