Turkish foreign minister meets Putin aide during visit to Russian capital Moscow

ISTANBUL

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday met with an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a two-day visit to Moscow.

A statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on X said that Fidan met with Vladimir Medinsky, who also led Russia’s delegation in the first direct negotiations held between Russia and Ukraine in over three years in Istanbul.

The talks on May 16, which were facilitated by Türkiye, concluded with the two sides agreeing to a large-scale exchange of prisoners involving a total of 1,000 people from each side and to continue negotiations for a truce.

No further details were provided by the ministry on the discussion between Fidan and Medinsky.

On Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Fidan's two-day visit starting on Monday, without providing further details.

The Kremlin on Monday announced that Fidan would be received by Putin, as well as his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, during the visit.