Erdoğan Says Putin, Zelenskyy Not Ready for Meeting

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 2 that neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently ready for direct talks, Orda.kz reports, citing Reuters.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with Putin in China on Sept. 1 and holding a phone call with Zelenskyy, Erdoğan noted that while earlier negotiations in Istanbul showed that dialogue remains possible, conditions for a leaders’ summit “have not yet been created.”

At the same time, he emphasized Türkiye’s support for “gradually raising the level of negotiations.”

The question of direct talks has drawn attention in recent weeks.

After meeting Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was seeking to broker a summit between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Following Aug. 18 talks at the White House with Trump and European officials, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready for unconditional high-level negotiations with Moscow.

The Ukrainian president has repeatedly stated he is open to meeting Putin directly and has called on the U.S. to increase pressure if Moscow continues to resist such talks.