ANKARA — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (July 3) that Ankara could help end the Ukraine-Russia war, but Putin's spokesman said Erdogan could not play the role of an intermediary in the 28-month-old conflict.

Erdogan, speaking to Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan, said he believed a fair peace suiting both sides was possible, the Turkish presidency said.

But Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, ruled out any role as a go-between for the Turkish leader.

"No, it's not possible," said Peskov, when asked by a Russian television interviewer whether Erdogan could assume such a role, according to the Russian Tass news agency. The news agency's account did not explain why the Kremlin was opposed to Erdogan's participation.

The Turkish presidency said the two leaders also discussed the war in Gaza and ways to end the conflict in Syria.

Turkey is a member of Nato, the US-led Western military alliance.

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