In phone call with Putin, Turkey's Erdogan calls for 'immediate' end of war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation on Saturday, that touched upon the war in Ukraine, the UN-brokered grain deal, and the Syria conflict. Erdogan exhorted Putin for an "immediate cessation" of the year-old invasion of Ukraine as it continues to ravage human lives and infrastructure.

On a lighter note, the Turkish leader expressed gratitude to his Russian counterpart for going ahead with the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement between Russia and Ukraine made with Turkey and the United Nations (UN) last year after the war broke out.

According to the official website of the Kremlin, the two sides agreed upon Moscow's key intention to "achieve the full implementation of the second part of the mentioned "package" agreements - to remove barriers to agricultural products from Russia."

What did the leaders discuss?

Furthermore, Erdogan thanked Putin for the help that Turkey received from Russia after a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the country earlier in February, killing tens of thousands of people at once. The leaders "agreed to work out the possibilities of arranging the supply of building materials from Russia in the interests of restoring the destroyed infrastructure and housing," reads Kremlin's statement. 

In addition to that, the leaders addressed what the Kremlin called "the Syrian problem" of increased tensions between Ankara and Damascus. "The President of Turkey especially noted in this connection the constructive mediating role of Russia," the statement added. The duo concluded the wide-ranging talk by extending greetings to one another for the holy month of Ramadan, a period of time that involves fasting and celebrations in the Islamic community.