Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Kazakhstan on October 12.
News agencies AFP and dpa both cited Turkish officials on October 11 as saying that the two presidents will meet in Astana during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
The confirmation comes a day after Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the two leaders "may meet" in the Kazakh capital.
Erdogan and Putin last met in mid-September in Uzbekistan on the sidelines of a summit of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
NATO member Turkey has positioned itself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia since Moscow invaded its neighbor on February 24. While Ankara has criticized Moscow, it has stopped short of joining crippling Western economic and financial sanctions.
Erdogan has publicly expressed hope he can bring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy together for talks to stop the war.
Following major setbacks on the battlefield last month as Ukrainian forces launched successful counteroffensives to liberate territories occupied by Russian troops, Putin said during a speech announcing that four Ukrainian regions were now part of Russia that Moscow "is ready" for talks with Ukraine.
Zelenskiy has rejected the talks, saying Ukraine will speak to the "next" Russian president, implying that talks can proceed only after Putin is removed.
