ISTANBUL, March 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that Turkey was ready to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
 
  NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with its two Black Sea neighbours Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, with Erdogan pitching himself as a key go-between and possible peace-maker.
 
  "We are ready to host a peace summit where Russia is also present," Erdogan told a press conference in Istanbul, alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
 
  "While we continue our solidarity with Ukraine, we will continue our work to end the war with a just peace on the basis of negotiations," Erdogan said.
 
  The Turkish leader said he and Zelensky had discussed the issues of ports security, navigation safety in the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges and food security, and that they shared the same opinions.
 
  "We are not hopeless," he said.
 
  "We believe that there are some opportunities that Turkey can provide with its stance."
 
  And he added that Turkey is "taking these steps because we see a positive approach, we hope that we will get results from them".