The defense ministers of Turkey, Italy and Britain on Friday held a meeting over the Ukraine crisis in Turkey's largest city Istanbul.

The ministers would exchange views on relations between their countries in the fields of defense and security and regional issues, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Before the meeting, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar had bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini and British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace separately, according to the ministry.

Ankara has accelerated its efforts to bring a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine, pushing for a summit between Russian and Ukrainian presidents in Turkey.

The latest round of face-to-face peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations was held in Istanbul at the end of March.