Erdoğan and Zelenskyy Met Ahead of Ukraine-Russia Negotiations in Istanbul

The Presidents of Türkiye and Ukraine met in Ankara ahead of the upcoming direct negotiations on resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Orda.kz reports.

According to Anadolu, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the entrance to the presidential complex. The Turkish delegation included Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, and the president's chief adviser on foreign policy and security, Akif Çağatay Kılıç.

A working dinner with the participation of delegations will be held at the end of the bilateral meeting of the presidents. It is expected that during the meeting of the heads of Türkiye and Ukraine, a comprehensive discussion of the latest developments in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will take place,
 the Turkish media outlet stated.

Erdoğan is expected to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and push both sides toward direct peace negotiations.

Earlier, it was confirmed that both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would not attend the peace talks in Türkiye. Zelenskyy’s participation was also uncertain.

During a press conference in Ankara, Zelenskyy announced that he would not travel to Istanbul for talks with the Russian delegation, according to Novaya Gazeta.

Instead, he stated that Ukraine would send a team headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Despite the low level of the Russian delegation, out of respect for the U.S. and Erdoğan, I decided to send our delegation to Istanbul, but not everyone,
 Zelenskyy said.

He also noted that the Ukrainian delegation would remain in Istanbul until May 16 and would hold meetings with U.S. representatives.

Putin didn’t come, so there’s nothing for me, the head of the Security Service, or the Chief of the General Staff to do in Istanbul,
 he added.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny