Kremlin says Russia ‘grateful’ to Türkiye for efforts to help resolve Ukraine war

"The Turkish side continues to offer its services, and we are grateful to our Turkish friends for this. We are ready to provide all the conditions for continuing the negotiation process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a briefing.

Peskov's remarks come a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the over three-and-a-half-year war, as well as regional and global issues, during a phone call on Monday.

During the phone call, Erdogan said Ankara would continue its efforts to help ensure that the Russia-Ukraine war ends with a just and lasting peace.

According to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, Erdogan underlined that Ankara is ready to contribute to diplomatic initiatives that would facilitate direct contact between parties to the conflict and pave the way for a lasting peace.

Türkiye has hosted key diplomatic encounters between Moscow and Kyiv since the early weeks of the Russia-Ukraine war, including three rounds of renewed peace talks in Istanbul this year, which resulted in major prisoner swaps and an exchange of draft memoranda outlining their respective positions for a future peace deal.

Proposed US plan

Peskov also commented on discussions surrounding a proposed US plan aimed at advancing peace efforts in Ukraine, saying Russia has not yet received an updated version of the document.

Reiterating Moscow's belief that the document could become a very good basis for negotiations, Peskov said the plan was drafted partly in accordance with understandings reached at the summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska earlier this year.

He expressed Russia's interest in achieving its goals in Ukraine through diplomatic means, as well as its openness to negotiations.

"Naturally, discussing a security system in Europe—and it's difficult to talk about security guarantees without a security system as a whole—is practically impossible without the participation of Europeans. At some point, this will certainly be necessary," he went on to say.

He also said that the Kremlin is closely monitoring media reports regarding contacts between Russian and US officials in the UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi, but added that there are no developments in this regard.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks with the head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence and a Russian delegation for a peace deal to end the over three-and-a-half-year war.

Citing a US official and two people familiar with the meeting, the report said Driscoll and the Russians began talks on Monday night, and the discussions were scheduled to continue on Tuesday.

Representatives from the US, Ukraine, and European allies met Sunday in Geneva to discuss the proposal to end the over three-and-a-half-year war.

Trump has said the US-drafted plan would not be his "final offer," as the proposal has sparked concerns in Kyiv and among its allies.

Late Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, following the negotiations, the plan, which initially contained 28 points, now has “fewer points” and “many of the right elements.”

That same day, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the US is expected to reach out to Moscow “soon” to discuss the plan, while stressing that no concrete arrangements for such talks have yet been finalized.