ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at his request, the Turkish Communications Directorate said on Thursday.

The leaders discussed the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as regional and global issues.

Erdogan said progress had been made in the Istanbul talks aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and stressed the importance of the process yielding positive humanitarian outcomes.

Rutte shared his views on the situation in Ukraine ahead of the Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Erdogan said Türkiye is closely following the upcoming meeting.

Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday at 11.30 am local time (1930GMT). The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since the start of the Moscow-Kyiv war, now nearing three and a half years.