Could we be about to see the opening of another diplomatic channel for resolving heightened tensions between Russia and NATO countries?

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Kyiv on Thursday, Turkey being a NATO country which also enjoys relatively cordial ties with Russia.

If things escalate much further, that could leave it in a difficult position. Politically and indeed, economically, Ankara can ill afford to have to choose sides by for example signing on to a co-ordinated western effort to tighten sanctions against the Russian state. On the other hand, Moscow might look to pressure President Erdogan into limiting the transit of NATO vessels into the Black Sea through the Bosporus Strait, as it did in 2014.

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So Turkey's president has instead offered himself up as a mediator in this dangerous dispute. "As I have emphasised before, Turkey is ready to do what it can to end the crisis between two friendly countries which are also neighbours in Black Sea," Erdogan told journalists while standing alongside his Ukrainian counterpart. "We can happily host a summit at the leaders level or technical level," Erdogan added.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately accepted the offer. "I would like to thank President Erdogan for his initiative to become a mediator between Ukraine and Russia on the way to ending the war," he said. "We are ready to do our best on all platforms and in all formats … as long as we put a stop to the war. It is important that all are ready to do it."

None of that counts without Russian consent. Turkish officials confirm they have invited President Vladimir Putin for a state visit later this month. But the Kremlin's only response so far has been to say only if the coronavirus virus situation and work schedules allow.

The suggestion, perhaps, that this format may not be at the very top of Putin's to-do list right now.