ANKARA, Sept. 29, 2022 (Xinhua) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to enter into negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis, according to a statement issued by the Turkish presidency.

"There is a need to take steps to ease tensions and pave the way towards achieving more positive developments, and Russia is expected to take steps to facilitate this process, especially with regard to the issue of the accession of some regions in Ukraine to Russia," Erdogan told Putin in a phone call.

Erdogan called on Putin to "give the negotiations another chance," expressing Turkey's readiness to facilitate this process.

The Turkish president also expressed his satisfaction with the success of the prisoner exchange process between Russia and Ukraine, and the progress of the agreement signed in Istanbul, according to which the export of Ukrainian grain to world markets was resumed.

Erdogan said that extending the grain export mechanism, which will expire in November, is in everyone's interest, pledging that Ankara will continue to work on exporting Russian fertilizers and grain products without hindrance.