ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey supports efforts to establish a permanent peace in Ukraine with the participation of all parties, President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday,

Speculation is rising over a possible Zelensky–Putin showdown in Turkey, after reports that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out directly to the Kremlin while appearing to sideline Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"I will be in Turkey this Thursday May 15th, and I am expecting Putin in Turkey - personally. I hope this time Putin will not look for reasons why he can't do something.

And I hope that this time, Putin won’t be looking for excuses as to why he ‘can’t’ make it.” On Monday, the Ukrainian president urged Trump to join the talks, if they happen.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey spoke to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday and called for a cease-fire in Ukraine, a statement from the Turkish leader’s office said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during their meeting on sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building ...

Well today, Russian President Vladimir Putin worked to marshal his own base of international support. In Tehran, he met with the presidents of Iran and Turkey.

While Turkey is a member of NATO, Mr. Erdogan has good relations with Mr. Putin, despite the Russian leader’s antipathy toward the Western military alliance of 30 nations.

After the White House said Putin promised Trump that he would meet with Zelenskyy, Russia now says “all issues requiring consideration at the highest level" must be agreed to first.