President Erdoğan to meet Zelensky in Ankara amid peace efforts

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Ankara on Feb. 18 at a moment when United States stepped in for a quick end of the Russian occupation of Ukraine.

According to a statement by the Communications Directorate, Zelensky will arrive in the Turkish capital in an official visit to Türkiye and meet President Erdoğan.

“During the talks, all aspects of the Turkish-Ukrainian strategic partnership will be reviewed and steps for further strengthening the bilateral cooperation will be raised,” the statement informed.

The two presidents will also exchange views on recent developments in Ukraine and other regional and global issues, it added. Zelensky and Erdoğan are expected to hold a joint press conference following their talks.

Zelensky is in a three-country trip that includes the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. Zelensky’s meetings come as Washington and Moscow decided to launch a new dialogue process for resolving the conflict. On the same day Zelensky and Erdoğan meet in Ankara, the American and Russian delegations will hold a key meeting to create a road map for future peace talks.

Türkiye is in favor of a negotiated and fair agreement between Russia and Ukraine and has already announced its willingness to mediate between the two sides.

In an interview with TRT World over the weekend, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye, along with European countries, deserves to be part of the peace talks as it is one of the regional countries that is most affected by the ongoing war.

In Ankara, talks will focus on efforts to end the war through an agreement and to provide security in the Black Sea. Türkiye and Ukraine have described their ties as a strategic partnership and launched an effort to upgrade cooperation in the defense industry.

After Ankara, Zelensky is expected to go to Saudi Arabia.