Italy hopes Erdogan can convince Putin to stop hostilities in Ukraine

Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Benedetto Della Vedova set out a hope that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be able to show influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Italian authorities want the Turkish president to convince his Russian counterpart to stop the fighting in Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports.

"If Erdogan can convince Putin to stop the invasion and withdraw the troops, I think it will be a success,” the deputy head of the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Della Vedova also hopes that Putin will be able to seize an "opportunity to do the right thing" and stop the offensive.

The meeting between Putin and Erdogan is expected to take place this week in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Russian president will take part in three international events: the Sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, the meeting of the Council of CIS leaders, and the Russia-Central Asia summit.