Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a "vision for a fair solution," the Turkish presidency said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Erdogan and the Russian president have spoken repeatedly since the war that started in Ukraine in February. Turkey acted as mediator alongside the United Nations to set up a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea.

"President Erdogan said calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a vision for a fair solution," the readout said, adding that Erdogan reminded Putin of the positive outcomes of the grains corridor deal.

The two leaders also discussed Syria, with Erdogan telling Putin that concrete steps needed to be taken to clear Kurdish militants from the Syrian border region, the readout said.

"President Erdogan emphasised that concrete steps should now be taken to clear the terrorist organisation PKK/PYD/YPG from Turkey's border regions, especially Tel Rifat and Manbij," it said.

Also, Erdogan announced to Putin that he intends to take concrete steps to create a roadmap for creating a natural gas hub in Turkey. In this regard, the Turkish president drew attention to the efforts aimed at the development of Turkey's energy infrastructure, Turkish mass media write.