Kyiv: Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan affirmed during his visit to Ukraine on Friday that “both Russia and Ukraine want a ceasefire,” stressing “the need for both sides to clearly express their positions to achieve this.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Fidan noted that “Turkey is an ideal venue to host peace negotiations between the two countries, given the urgent need to de-escalate the military situation.” Turkey is hosting a second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul, following the first direct meeting between the two sides on May 16.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously announced that the next round of direct negotiations between Moscow and Ukraine would take place on June 2 in Istanbul, where Russia would present its memorandum to Ukraine. This came after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to Ukraine to resume direct negotiations without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier ex
plained that the goal of the proposed negotiations with Ukraine is to address the root causes of the conflict and ensure Russia’s interests.