Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told PBS Newshour that his country is willing to see a peace settlement reached between Russia and Ukraine in the near future.
"He (Vladimir Putin) is actually showing me that he's willing to end this as soon as possible. That was my impression because the way things are going right now is quite problematic." Erdogan said, days after Kyiv's lighting counteroffensive pushed Russian troops out of Kharkiv Oblast.
According to Erdogan, Russia must return all land it had occupied, including Crimea. "If peace is going to be established in Ukraine, of course, returning the land that was invaded will become really important. This is what is expected," he added. "No invasion can be justified," said Erdogan.
Erdogan also said he "asked (Putin) to return Crimea to its rightful owners."
The Turkish president added that as a first step, "200 hostages will be exchanged upon an agreement" between Ukraine and Russia.
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