ANKARA, March 17 (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated that Turkey is ready to host the next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, during a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, Turkey’s foreign ministry said.
Fidan underlined the risks posed by the prolonged war for both regional countries and the international order, while the ministers also addressed issues related to energy security, according to the ministry.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the conversation between Fidan and Lavrov covered Russian-Turkish energy cooperation, with particular emphasis on securing the Blue Stream and TurkStream gas pipelines amid what Moscow described as Ukraine’s attempts to damage their infrastructure.
Last week Russia said that it had foiled Ukrainian attacks on its gas pumping stations, operated by Gazprom, that form part of the network delivering gas to Europe through TurkStream and Blue Stream.
(Reporting by Tuvan GumrukcuAdditional reporting by Maxim RodionovWriting by Ece ToksabayEditing by Peter Graff)
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