Probably next week, the second round of direct talks between the two warring countries, Russia and Ukraine, will be held in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who is trying to mediate the talks, is on a visit to Ukraine to prepare for the talks.

On Friday, he told journalists from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, that both sides want a ceasefire. 

NATO member Turkey is mediating to end the Russia-Ukraine war that has been going on for more than three years. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, Turkey is trying to maintain relations with both Kiev and Moscow. Kiev has not yet decided whether to send a delegation to the talks proposed by Russia to be held on Monday. 

Ukraine demands that Russia publish a roadmap for peace before holding direct talks. Otherwise, he has been saying that the specific rationale of holding talks cannot be confirmed. Moscow has said that it will personally hand over the draft of the end of the war to the Ukrainian delegation that will attend the talks. 

'As the talks begin, I see the issue taking a more optimistic turn, both sides wanting a ceasefire. No one has said they don't want a ceasefire," Anadolu news agency quoted Foreign Minister Fidan as saying. In preparation for talks, Fidan also met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow at the beginning of this week. After arriving in Kiev on Friday, he met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga and visited the memorial site of soldiers killed in the war. Foreign Minister Fidan is also expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. 

For more than two months, Ukraine has called Russia a full, unconditional  It has been calling to agree to a ceasefire for 30 days. Despite pressure from Washington and Europe, Putin has repeatedly rejected such calls. Despite not rejecting talks, Russia has recently intensified its attacks on Ukraine. 

Moscow has generally made demands from the start, including limiting Ukraine's military, barring it from joining NATO, making huge territorial concessions and ousting Zelensky. Two weeks ago, the first round of "face to face" talks were held between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. 

Turkey has also proposed a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky, along with Trump. After the first round of talks, Ukraine demanded direct talks between Putin and Zelensky in the next round. Which was also given a 'green signal' by the Russian negotiating team. But he has been rejecting the direct role of the US saying that the talks should be between the two countries only. Moscow has not yet given an official opinion about the latest proposal of mediator Turki to include Trump in the talks.