Russian and Ukrainian delegates have arrived in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, for a peace talk.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday, welcomed the negotiators as they arrived at his office in Dolmabahçe Palace.
The arrival of the delegations to the Dolmabahçe Palace was for talks to end the “tragedy,’’ Erdogan said.
He added that everyone would benefit from an immediate ceasefire.
Erdogan, who has garnered good relations with Kyiv and Moscow, said he remained optimistic about a ceasefire deal.
However, negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations were proving to be difficult.
Kyiv wanted a withdrawal of Russian troops from its territories as well as additional security guarantees.
Moscow is demanding that Ukraine renounce its NATO bid, recognize the breakaway eastern Ukrainian separatist areas as separate states, and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed in 2014, as part of Russia.