UN Secretary-General to visit Turkey before holding talks in Russia, Ukraine, ministry announces

Xinhua 2022:04:25.08:21

ANKARA, April 24 (Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will pay a visit to Turkey on Monday before holding talks in Moscow and kyiv as part of efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The secretary-general will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Guterres will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 26 and 28 respectively, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

Guterres will visit Moscow on April 26 and have “a meeting and a working lunch” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Guterres.

During his trip to Ukraine, Guterres will also have a working meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and will meet with staff of UN agencies to discuss expanding humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, he said. Dujarric.

Turkey has been playing a mediating role to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as Ankara has close ties with both countries. In March, Turkey hosted the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia, as well as a meeting between the negotiating teams of the two countries.

(Web editor: Rosa Liu, Zhao Jian)

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