Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Erdogan renews proposal to bring Putin, Zelensky together

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Friday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his offer to bring the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to Turkey, during a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday.

"Pointing out that reaching consensus on some issues may require talks at the leadership level, Erdogan reiterated his offer to host Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul or Ankara," said a statement of the Turkish presidency.

Declaration of a lasting ceasefire would pave the way for a long-term solution, said Erdogan, expressing his hope that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would yield positive results, according to the statement.

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According to the Kremlin, in their conversation, Putin and Erdogan exchanged views on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, especially the humanitarian situation.

Putin briefed Erdogan about the Moscow-Kiev peace talks, while Erdogan thanked Putin for the evacuation of Turkish citizens from Ukraine, it added.

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During their talks on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his visiting Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed to focus on organizing a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

"Now, we are focusing our efforts on organizing a meeting of leaders of Ukraine and Russia," Cavusoglu said, adding that the date of the meeting has yet to be confirmed.

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Zelensky said Thursday that he held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss France's support for Ukraine.

They discussed the support for Ukrainians in the conflict and the continuation of peaceful dialogue, he tweeted.

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During his visit to Pakistan, Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Thursday that no one in Austria is allowed to go and fight in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.

"I can tell you one thing anybody going to conflict will lose, by law, its nationality. This is Austrian law," he told a media briefing.

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On Thursday, the Lithuanian parliament unanimously approved a proposal to increase this year's national defense funding to 2.52 percent of GDP, according to Lithuanian ministry of finance.

The new amendment allows the state to borrow funds for its NATO membership commitments, ensuring defense allocations at 2.52 percent of GDP. The current budget allocates just over 1.2 billion euros, or 2.05 percent of GDP, to the Defense Ministry.