Erdoğan seeks talks with Putin on ending the war after meeting Zelenskyy
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (photo: Getty Images)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine, Reuters reports.
He told reporters he wanted to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war with Putin after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul last week.
Erdoğan said Türkiye is doing everything possible to pave the way for peace between Russia and Ukraine, and it will continue to do so. Following his meeting with Zelenskyy, he wanted to discuss the Russian side of the issue during a meeting with Putin.
According to the Turkish leader, Türkiye's foreign minister and other officials are in contact with representatives of Ukraine and Russia to explore arranging a new meeting between the two sides on Turkish soil.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there were currently no specific arrangements for a conversation between Putin and Erdoğan.
He added that such contact could be organized at short notice if necessary.
Zelenskyy's meeting with Erdoğan
On November 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
After the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said Ukraine was preparing for trilateral diplomatic talks in the first half of November and was considering involving Türkiye.
Zelenskyy also said he was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person in Türkiye. He hopes Erdoğan will help arrange the meeting, with the main goal of achieving a ceasefire along the entire front line.
