Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ready to hold a meeting between Ukraine and Russia at the level of leaders or at the technical level, the office of the Turkish president reported.

"President Erdogan stressed that Turkey has maintained a principled, responsible and directional stance in the alliance since the first day and will continue to do so. He noted that the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine once again demonstrated the added value of being part of NATO. The president has said since the escalation began it must be resolved through diplomacy, and has also informed both sides of Ankara's willingness to hold a meeting between Russia and Ukraine on leadership or technical level," the office of the Turkish president said.