ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday and urged him to act with common sense, the Turkish presidency said, after Russian mercenary fighters began an armed mutiny overnight.
Putin, who described the Wagner Group’s actions as “treason” in an emergency televised address, said anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.
Erdogan was among the first leaders to hold a phone call with Putin after his speech on Saturday.
The Turkish presidency said the two discussed recent developments in Russia and Erdogan told Putin that Turkey was ready to do its part to help bring about a peaceful resolution.
“It was stressed during the call that no one should take it upon themselves to take action in the face of the situation in Russia,” it added.
The Kremlin said in a separate statement that Erdogan had backed the Russian government’s handling of the mutiny during the conversation with Putin.
Erdogan has sought to maintain strong ties with both Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
NATO member Turkey has refused to join its Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on Russia, but it has also supplied arms to Ukraine and called for its sovereignty to be respected.
(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith)
