Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday and congratulated him on his weekend election victory.

Erdoğan, according to Hurriyet Daily News, said Turkey is ready to facilitate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin’s office reports the two presidents expressed their desire to continue close cooperation for developing multifaceted Russian-Turkish relations and discussed issues of enhancing international stability and security, specifically, in the Black Sea region.