Istanbul talks may lead to Erdogan-Putin-Trump-Zelensky meeting in Turkey - Turkish Foreign Ministry

ISTANBUL. May 30 (Interfax) - The Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul can help agree on a meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.

"We are considering whether the talks in Istanbul could be crowned by a meeting hosted by President Erdogan, bringing together Trump, Putin and Zelensky," the Anadolu news agency quoted Fidan as saying.

"We proved that talks can yield concrete results," he said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine contacts in Istanbul. Turkey has a "desire to maintain momentum achieved in Istanbul," he said.

Turkey can either turn a blind eye to the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict "or reach lasting peace within this year," Fidan said.

He arrived in Ukraine on Thursday on a two-day visit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Russia was ready to present its memorandum with terms of the conflict settlement to the Ukrainian negotiators and to discuss it at direct talks in Istanbul on June 2.

The first round of negotiations was also held in Istanbul on May 16.