Russia and Ukraine managed to bring their positions closer on a number of points during the talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

"There is convergence on the two countries' positions on the critical issues. We observe that they almost agreed on the first four articles, but decisions on some issues need to be given at the leaders' level," Cavusoglu said in the interview.

When asked if an immediate ceasefire could be expected, the official said "if the parties do not retreat from their current positions, we can say that we hope for a ceasefire. There are open channels between the leaders. It is now known."