UN chief, Turkish leader discuss Ukraine

The UN says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are stressing the urgent need for “effective access through humanitarian corridors” to evacuate Ukrainian civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to communities impacted by the war.

Guterres met Erdogan on Monday in Ankara and expressed support for Turkey's ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that they “agreed to stay in contact to follow up on ongoing initiatives.” The U.N. chief and the Turkish president “reaffirmed that their common objective is to end to the war as soon as possible and to create conditions to end the suffering of civilians,” Dujarric said.

During the meeting, Erdogan also said Turkey would continue to work closely with the U.N. to end the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and to help in the evacuation of civilians,.

Guterres is scheduled to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and will then head to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. The Ukrainian leader has criticized the secretary-general for visiting Moscow before going to Kyiv.