The Caucasus and Libya were also raised during the talks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting comes shortly after Cavusoglu said Ankara was in touch with both Russia and Ukraine to ease tensions that have raised fears of an all-out war between the two countries.

“We are in contact with both sides and we are advising them to remain calm and ease tensions,” Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency.

He also said that Turkey doesn’t believe sanctions on Moscow were a solution to the crisis.

“As Turkey, what we believe in is a right balance between deterrence and dialogue,” he said. “Nobody can help Ukraine or another country through sanctions alone.”

Turkey has sought closer defense ties with Ukraine in recent years, including through sales of its domestically produced Bayraktar TB2 drones.

The technology was used against pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in late October, sparking Russian accusations that Turkey was fueling “militaristic sentiment”.

At a previous meeting with Lavrov, Cavusoglu insisted that Turkey hadn’t any responsibility for the incident.

Turkey has sought a working relationship with Russia over various other issues including Syria, where both maintain a sizable military presence but back different sides in the country’s conflict.

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