Erdoğan attends virtual summit for Ukraine

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has attended a virtual meeting of leaders on Ukraine organized by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with the participation of heads of governments from prominent countries.

Erdoğan, who joined the meeting from the National Defense University, was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler on March 15.

There was no statement from Türkiye following the meeting.

Ankara has been actively engaged in international discussions advocating for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, aiming to pave the way for a lasting agreement to end the conflict. The Turkish government has also reiterated its willingness to host peace talks between the two warring sides.

In a statement after the virtual meeting that observed the participation of 26 leaders, Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin would eventually have to “come to the table.”

“But Putin is trying to delay — saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place,” he added. "Sooner or later, Putin will have to come to the table."

Military chiefs will meet again on March 20 in the U.K. as the coalition moves into the operational phase, he added.

"The group that met this morning is a bigger group than we had two weeks ago, there is a stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table this morning," he said.

Diplomatic pressure on Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia wanted to achieve a "stronger position" militarily ahead of any ceasefire, more than three years since it invaded his country.

"They want to improve their situation on the battlefield," Zelensky told journalists in Kiev.

The ceasefire proposal by Trump's team comes as Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. The Russian leader did not commit to an immediate ceasefire proposed by the U.S., instead setting conditions.

But Zelensky insisted that Putin was "lying about how a ceasefire is supposedly too complicated."

French President Emmanuel Macron on March 15 called for joint U.S. and European pressure on Russia to accept the proposed ceasefire.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a message on X that Russia had to show "it is willing to support a ceasefire leading to a just and lasting peace."