The Minsk meetings between Ukraine and Russia will be held in Istanbul, Turkish diplomatic sources said, without indicating a precise date as tensions in the region have reached a new high.

The diplomatic sources underlined that Turkey’s position remains clear, namely to decrease tensions, prevent escalation and enhance dialogue.

"Talks and efforts on holding the next round of the Trilateral Contact Group, comprising Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul continue," they elaborated.

NATO member Turkey has good ties with Moscow, though it opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya. It has forged energy and defense cooperation with Russia while opposing Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to visit Ukraine in February to help defuse tensions in a show of support.

The president recently said Turkey could mediate between Ukraine and Russia amid increasing tensions in the region.

In its initial response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Ankara's offer while speaking to journalists in Moscow, saying: "The fact is that Russia is not a party to the conflict in Donbass. It will be impossible to find solutions to the problem at such a summit."

But, in a later statement, the Kremlin said that if Turkey and Erdoğan can use their influence to encourage Ukraine to implement the 2014 Minsk Protocol, Russia would welcome it.

With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, fears are mounting that a major conflict could break out in Europe.

Moscow insists it has no plans to invade Ukraine but has at the same time laid down a series of security demands -- including a ban on Ukraine joining NATO -- in exchange for de-escalation.

NATO allies have signaled their willingness to keep talking but Moscow has demanded a written response on its proposals for security guarantees.

On the Russian wish list are measures that would limit military activities in the former Warsaw Pact and ex-Soviet countries that joined NATO after the Cold War.

Ukraine has been fighting Moscow-backed forces in two breakaway eastern regions since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

More than 13,000 people have been killed, and the latest Russian troop build-up has also greatly rattled their neighbors in the Baltics.