ISTANBUL, March 25, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

will ask Russian leader Vladimir Putin to be an "architect of peace" and stop
the war in Ukraine, Turkish media reported Friday.

Erdogan, who has been trying to broker peace between Moscow and Kyiv, made
the comments while returning from a emergency NATO summit in Brussels.

Erdogan said he would telephone Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky on
Friday and speak to Putin at the weekend or early next week, in comments
published by the private NTV broadcaster and other media outlets.

"We should tell (Putin) you should be the architect of the step to be taken
for peace," Erdogan said.

"We should look for a way to resolve this issue by telling him 'make an
honourable start'", said the Turkish leader, who has held direct talks with
Putin.

An ally of Kyiv and a NATO member, Turkey has been trying to broker peace
while declining to join Western sanctions against Russia.

Erdogan also said he would review the NATO summit's results with Putin and
Zelensky.

NATO on Thursday announced new troop deployments to Romania, Hungary,
Slovakia and Bulgaria and a plan to bolster chemical and nuclear defences.

Erodgan also said Russia and Ukraine appeared to have reached agreement on
the four out of six negotiating points: Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO, the
use of Russian in Ukraine, disarmament and security guarantees.

"Of course Ukraine is a state. It's out of the question (for Kyiv) to accept
disarmament from A to Z but the Ukrainian side said some compromises might be
made there," said Erdogan.

But he made clear that Ukraine was not that flexible with the status of the
breakaway pro-Russian Donbas region and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Turkey hosted the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the southern
resort of Antalya this month.

Erdogan has repeatedly said his country is ready to be a venue for a meeting
between Putin and Zelensky.