Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that Turkey could act as a mediator in the issue of the nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region.
According to the Turkish president’s office, the country wants to “play a mediated role, as it did with the ‘grain deal.'”
Turkey played an important role in the closing of this deal in July. With the agreements made, partly at the initiative of Turkey, cargo ships carrying grain will be able to leave Ukrainian ports under supervision and on safe shipping routes, despite the acts of war.
The nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, the largest in Europe, has recently come under regular fire. Russia, which has occupied the plant, and Ukraine blame each other for the attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday that Ukrainian troops attempted to attack and capture the nuclear power plant late on Friday night. More than 250 troops from the Ukrainian Navy are said to have tried to reach the shore of a lake near the complex. Russian troops are said to have thwarted the attack using military helicopters and fighter jets.
Erdogan and Putin plan to discuss the issue of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant at a summit in Uzbekistan later this month.