A group of Ukrainians in Germany on Wednesday gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in Berlin, seeking Turkey's help to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
The group chanted the slogan "Save Mariupol, Turkey" in Turkish, referring to the besieged Ukrainian Black Sea port city.
Ankara's Ambassador to Berlin Ahmet Basar Şen offered Turkish delight and beverages to the Ukrainians.
The capital Ankara or Istanbul will serve as the "solution point" for the steps to be taken to ease tensions in eastern Ukraine, Erdoğan told reporters after performing Eid prayers in Istanbul.
Two months since the beginning of Moscow's war on Ukraine, Russian troops have intensified their attacks in the eastern part of the war-ravaged country.
Ankara, which has friendly ties with both sides, is actively involved in diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. It hosted delegation-level talks in Istanbul last month and has repeatedly proposed holding a leaders’ summit between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on March 29 were seen as a breakthrough in the push to halt the hostilities that began on Feb. 24.
Earlier in March, Turkey also brought together the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in its southern resort city of Antalya, the first meeting of senior government officials from the two sides since the start of the war.
Turkish officials have also been engaging with their counterparts on the issue of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine to evacuate stranded civilians and wounded persons.
"We are taking all kinds of steps in the process of accelerating evacuations in Ukraine," Erdoğan said.
Turkey has so far facilitated the evacuation of dozens of civilians from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Noting that both the Ukrainian and the Russian sides want some level of support from Turkey in grain exports, the president said these issues will be discussed with Putin.
At least 3,238 civilians have been killed and 3,397 others injured in Ukraine since the war with Russia began on Feb. 24, according to U.N. estimates. The true toll is feared to be much higher.
More than 5.6 million people have fled to other countries, with some 7.7 million people internally displaced, data from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees shows.
