Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed with him the war between Russia and Ukraine and Turkish-Russian relations, according to the website of the Turkish TV channel NTV on Monday.

"Erdogan said that they [the Turkish side] are ready to meet with Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul and play a role in a possible monitoring mechanism if both sides agree to it in principle," the report says.

The Turkish head of state also noted the need for steps that would "minimize the negative consequences of the war."

Also during the conversation, the actions of the Turkish side in Syria, as well as regional issues were discussed, the report says.

As reported, a day earlier, Erdogan announced plans to hold telephone talks with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 30, noting that "we will continue to urge the parties to use channels of dialogue and diplomacy."

Later, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told that the telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and Turkey would take place in a bilateral format, Zelensky's participation in it is not planned.