President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election, as he said Türkiye was ready to assume any facilitator role in returning to the negotiation table in Ukraine, the Presidential Communications Directorate said Monday.

In a phone call, Erdoğan voiced his belief that the positive course in Turkish-Russian relations will continue even stronger in the days ahead, according to the statement.

Erdoğan added that Türkiye is ready to assume any facilitator role it can in returning to the negotiating table on the Ukraine war, now in its third year.

Incumbent Putin got 87.28% of the vote in Russia's three-day presidential election, with 100% of ballots counted, the country's election authority said Monday.

The Russian president is expected to visit Türkiye in late April or early May. The trip, delayed twice since late last year, will mark Putin’s first visit to a NATO member state since he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ankara has sought to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations – that ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grain during the war via the Black Sea. Russia withdrew from the accord in July 2023 and has said it was not interested in reviving it.