Erdogan and NATO chief discuss Russia-Ukraine tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a phone conversation over regional developments, particularly tensions between Russia and Ukraine, according to Turkey's presidency.

The phone talk comes amid NATO member Turkey's mediation efforts to defuse tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Turkey acts in a "logic of calming the tensions," Erdogan told the NATO chief, according to a presidential statement.

Stressing that the crisis should end in peaceful and diplomatic ways based on Ukraine's territorial integrity and international law within the framework of the Minsk Agreements, the Turkish president said he had told his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts on several occasions that Turkey would like to host a summit at the leadership level or talks at the technical level.

Last week, Erdogan held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev where he proposed to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.