PARIS, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky have focused on the prospects of the negotiations seeking to resolve the Ukraine conflict in the long term, the Elysee Palace said in a statement on Saturday after the two president’s phone conversation.
The two presidents “touched upon the prospects for the talks meant to ensure a lasting settlement of the conflict and the restoration of security” in Europe, the statement says.
“In this context, the French president reminded of his commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and his willingness to facilitate an agreement stipulating security guarantees for Ukraine,” the Elysee Palace said.
SEPARATELY, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin met Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
There were no immediate details about the content of Kalin’s meetings in Kyiv, but Ankara has been mediating between Ukraine and Russia in efforts to end the war.
Kalin was accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal.
Turkey hosted a meeting between Moscow and Kyiv negotiators in Istanbul and another between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya in March.
Erdogan is now trying to pave the way for an Istanbul summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.
Erdogan told Putin in a phone call on Thursday that Turkey wanted “to establish a lasting peace in the region as soon as possible by increasing the momentum gained in the Istanbul talks”, his office said. — NNN-AGENCIES
