Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have arrived in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, for a peace talk.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Tuesday, welcomed the negotiators as they arrived at his office in Dolmabahce Palace, NAN reports.
The arrival of the delegations to the Dolmabahce 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 Kiev 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, recognise the breakaway eastern Ukrainian separatist areas as separate states and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed in 2014, as part of Russia.