There are Western countries that are paving way for Third World War, Turkey's Erdogan says

There are countries in the West that are paving the way for the Third World War, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is talking about peace, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated.

"It is obvious that arms sellers need money. And the market for arms sellers is the West," Erdogan told reporters on the plane, returning to Turkey from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

Turkey, he said, hopes for a quick resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, preventing it from turning into a global one.

Erdogan told the reporters that during the negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, he had discussed the topic of Turkey's mediation to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

"We [i.e. Turkey] have held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and...[Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the first day of the conflict. During these negotiations, we had the opportunity to discuss questions about ‘where our mediation can go, how effective it can be.’ Basically, we discussed the mediation issue again during my meeting with Russian President Mr. Putin," the Turkish leader said.

Erdogan added that Turkey expects to become a permanent member of the SCO, but it may take time. He wants to continue developing Turkey’s relations with Russia and China within the framework of this organization also.