Ankara is a significant regional power and the most dominant among all NATO member states, Kremlin said Saturday, emphasizing Russia's relations with Turkey.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with the Belarusian state television, touched upon relations with Turkey after negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul.

He pointed out that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a great and strong political leader and said: "Turkey is a very significant regional power and country. Our relations with Turkey are excellent."

He noted that there are different views on relations between the two countries and at some points, the sides do not fully agree with each other.

"But the relationship based on mutual interests is dominant, so the two countries are developing big economic projects."

"Turkey has always been a sufficiently large regional power, and Turkey has been a member of NATO for many years," he said. "However, despite this, it became the most dominant state among the NATO member sovereign states, especially during the presidency of Erdoğan. And this country is a country that has the luxury of defending its interests."

Citing that Turkish authorities told NATO and the United States that Ankara was not interested in participating in sanctions against Russia, Peskov said it is also economically important that Turkey and Russia continue the dialogue.

"This is very valuable. We attribute a lot of value to it," he said.

Referring to strengthening cooperation between Turkey and Russia in tourism and energy, he noted: "We have a good perspective with Turkey."

"We are pleased that Erdoğan has found the strength to defend and follow his interests, the interests of his country and is not in the mainstream (like Europe).

"As you know, now all Europeans are in the mainstream but on their own account," he said.

"They spend, Washington makes money. Because of its anger at Russia, Europe is shooting itself in the foot," he said.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, the United States and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow. At least 1,325 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,017 injured, according to United Nations estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher. More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Leaders' meeting in Turkey

The venue for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy would most likely be Turkey, Interfax Ukraine cited Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia as saying on Saturday.

Putin and Zelenskyy are expected to meet in Turkey "with a high degree of probability," the agency reported, citing Arakhamia.

It said Arakhamia told Ukrainian television that a time and a place for a meeting were not known.

Both sides have described the negotiations in recent days as difficult. The talks are a combination of face-to-face sessions in Turkey and virtual meetings.

Arakhamia said Erdoğan had called Putin and Zelenskyy on Friday "and seemed to confirm from his side that they are ready to arrange a meeting in the near future."

He added: "Neither the date nor place are known, but we think it would most likely be in Istanbul or Ankara."

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have progressed enough for the leaders of the two warring countries to "conduct direct consultations," he also said.

Arakhamia told a Ukrainian television network that the Russian side "confirmed our thesis that draft documents have been developed enough to conduct direct consultations between the two leaders of the countries," Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

"Our task is to prepare the final stage, not just the document itself, but of those issues that we touched upon, and to prepare the future meeting of the presidents," Arakhamia, the head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks, said via phone link.

Arakhamia had also said that Russia had officially responded on all issues, accepting the Ukrainian position, "with the exception of the issue of Crimea."

In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29 as the war entered its second month with casualties piling up on both sides.

During the talks, Ukrainian officials signaled readiness to negotiate a "neutral status," a key Russian demand, but demanded security guarantees for their country.

Russia, meanwhile, pledged to significantly decrease its military activities toward the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv to build up trust for future negotiations.

Ukraine wants to see countries, including Turkey, as guarantors in a deal with Russia, a Ukrainian negotiator said after the talks.

Turkey also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met for talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, which Turkish top diplomat Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara hails it as a success for the fact that they took place at all.

Intense efforts for peace

In Istanbul on Saturday during iftar, a dinner to mark the breaking of the daily fast amid the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, Erdoğan addressed the families of Turkish security personnel killed in action or on duty.

"We are making intense efforts to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, with which we have close humanitarian, political, economic and historical relations," Erdoğan said.

"We especially wish that this war, whose negative repercussions we have felt, will come to an end as soon as possible, as it destabilizes the balance of global trade in many areas, from energy to food," he added.

Turkey’s delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.

Most recently, Erdoğan reiterated his offer to host Zelenskyy and Putin for talks to secure peace between Ukraine and Russia. Erdoğan voiced hope that a possible summit between the two leaders in Istanbul could bring an end to the war. He added that Putin and Zelenskyy need to take steps regarding Donbass and Crimea.

Conditions regarding these two regions are still obstacles between the two warring sides' negotiations, while Ukraine perceives Russian demands on the two regions as violations of its own territorial integrity.

Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Ankara has offered to facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia but maintains that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.

Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them. NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has underlined its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Having called Russia’s invasion an unacceptable violation of international law, Turkey has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense and tourism ties. Erdoğan has repeatedly said Turkey will not abandon its relations with Russia or Ukraine, underlining that Ankara’s ability to speak to both sides is an asset.

Turkey’s decision not to implement sanctions on Russia has helped to keep communication lines with Moscow open for cease-fire efforts, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said on Friday.

"We are one of the rare countries with which both Ukraine and Russia speak and that they both trust," he added.