Turkish FM leaves for Russia, Ukraine amid efforts for ceasefire: president

ANKARA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold talks in Russia on Wednesday and visit Ukraine the next day amid efforts to establish a ceasefire between warring sides.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that "I am sending our foreign minister to Russia today. He will hold talks in Moscow tomorrow and will travel to Ukraine on Thursday."

"He will continue our efforts to achieve a ceasefire and peace through talks with both sides," the Turkish president said.

Turkey hosted the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum last week for their first high-level negotiations, although talks did not yield any progress for a ceasefire.

Erdogan has repeatedly reiterated that Ankara cannot abandon its ties either with Russia or Ukraine since Turkey is neighboring the two countries in the Black Sea.