Zelensky to meet Erdogan as he awaits Putin
On May 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he expects a ceasefire to emerge from a potential in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could take place in Istanbul on May 15.
Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Putin chooses to attend the talks there, News.Az reports citing The Kyiv Independent.
"We will be waiting to meet with Putin in Turkey. So that Russia does not manipulate cities and say that Putin is not ready to fly to Ankara, but is ready to fly only to Istanbul," he said.
"I have conveyed the signal to President Erdogan, and the Turkish side is ready."
The meeting, if it occurs, would mark the first direct negotiations between the two leaders since 2019 and could signal a breakthrough in stalled diplomatic efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion.
The Kremlin has not confirmed Putin's participation, while Kyiv continues to demand an unconditional ceasefire.
"An unconditional ceasefire as of today, and based on the experience of all these days and months, cannot be guaranteed by anyone on the Russian side except Putin," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv during a press conference.
The Ukrainian president added that U.S. President Donald Trump had been invited to the meeting.
"If he confirmed his participation, it would have an additional impetus for Putin to come," Zelensky said.
Trump, currently on a four-day Middle East tour, voiced support for the talks, calling them "very important" and saying he "strongly pushed" for them to happen.
"I think good things can come from it," he said on May 12.
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