Erdogan expected to meet with Putin in Astana tomorrow

The meeting will take place in the margins of a regional summit to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, a Turkey official told AFP.

Turkey, which has remained neutral during the conflict in Ukraine, has good reports with Russia and Ukraine.

Erdogan has not yet condemned the massive air strikes that hit cities throughout Ukraine on October 10th. These attacks killed at least 19 people and injured more than 100 others.

But, Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba after the attacks, but there are no details from this conversation.

Erdogan met with Putin at the margin of a regional summit that was held in Uzbekistan last month. He still hopes he can join Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in peace talks. Turkey insists that peace talks are essential and the likelihood of them being held is real.

Turkey, which is a NATO member, has not joined the sanctions the West has imposed on Russia due to Ukraine's invasion, which has started on 24 February.

Erdogan is also committed to boosting trade with Moscow, as he is trying to stabilise Turkey's economy before running even for a new mandate in the June elections.

Last month, Ankara faced pressure from the United States and confirmed that the last three banks still performing banking services for the Russians would stop the practice.