Zelensky Says He Is Ready to Meet Putin in Türkiye, Hopes Erdogan Can Arrange a Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye and hopes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can help arrange a leaders' summit, in an interview with CNN Türk published on November 1. 'If Türkiye can make this happen, we would accept it and would only be happy about it,' Zelensky said.

Zelensky called Türkiye a practical and realistic mediator that would not take either side, while backing Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and said Erdogan's relationships with both President Donald Trump and Putin could help advance the talks. Several rounds of talks have already been held in Türkiye and technical teams have also met in the United Arab Emirates, he noted, but the war continues and some questions only a leaders' meeting can settle. Ukraine is preparing a trilateral meeting with the United States and Russia for the first half of November, he said, with Washington proposing Abu Dhabi for technical talks. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on November 1 that Russia and Ukraine 'must reach an agreement.' At a leaders' summit, Zelensky wants a full, unconditional ceasefire with monitoring, and he reiterated that Ukraine will not cede territory, including Crimea.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov responded the same day on the format of talks, saying Putin has never refused negotiations and would answer a call from Zelensky, and that the first rounds should be held in a trilateral Russia-U.S.-Ukraine format; the full Russian statement is linked below.

The interview came a day after Zelensky met Erdogan in Istanbul on October 31, where the two agreed to work on a Black Sea grain corridor and Erdogan said attacks on civilian ships are unacceptable whoever carries them out.

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：土耳其 Istanbul 水岸与苏莱曼尼耶清真寺实景资料图。摄影：Carlos ZGZ，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: The Istanbul waterfront and the Süleymaniye Mosque, Türkiye. Photo by Carlos ZGZ, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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