ISTANBUL 

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Türkiye is planned for February, a presidential aide said on Monday.

“Yes, a visit is being prepared,” Yuri Ushakov told reporters in St. Petersburg in response to a question on the visit.

Ushakov said Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" nearly two years ago, will be one of the key points of the meeting between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He said Moscow is ready to enter negotiations with Ukraine. “We respond to requests from different countries about our readiness, we say that we were ready from the very beginning, and it was not we who interrupted these negotiations, and we are now ready, but there is no one to talk to, because the Ukrainian side has forbidden itself to negotiate with the Russians,” he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that preparations for Putin's visit to Türkiye are underway.