Turkey ready to host Ukraine peace talks, Erdogan tells Putin

Face-to-face meeting between Ukrainian and Russian leaders could take place in Istanbul this week

Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Vladimir Putin following a meeting in September 2023 in Sochi, Russia. AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Turkey is willing to host negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, after the Russian leader proposed direct talks in the Turkish city.

In a phone call with Mr Putin on Sunday, the Turkish leader said he welcomed the Russian leader saying that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place in Istanbul, and said that Turkey was "ready to host negotiations that would ensure a permanent solution”, a statement from the Turkish President’s office said.

“In these negotiations, Turkey and President Erdogan will always stand on the side of justice and make sure all parties feel this,” Halil Korkmaz, a deputy chairman of foreign affairs at Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), told The National. “In fact, it is precisely because they believe in this that they choose to work with Turkey.”

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Putin proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace”, Reuters reported.

The meeting should take place “without preconditions,” Mr Putin said from the Kremlin. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would “be waiting for Putin” in the Turkish city, but said Russia should accept a full, temporary 30-day ceasefire before negotiations could start.

Ukraine’s leader met in Kyiv on Saturday with the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom to hammer out details of the proposal, which would lead to more sanctions on Moscow if not accepted by the Kremlin.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump said Mr Zelenskyy should accept Mr Putin’s offer to meet in Istanbul. “Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” he wrote.

Much of the detail of Thursday’s proposed meeting in Istanbul remains unclear, although Turkey has maintained relations with both Kyiv and Moscow over the course of the conflict, now in its fourth year.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday attended a meeting of European officials on Ukraine and said the country was ready to help observe a ceasefire, if established, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry official.

"Mr Fidan emphasised Turkey’s commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty," the official said in written remarks provided to journalists, on condition of anonymity. "He stated that Turkey supports the establishment of an unconditional ceasefire and efforts in this direction."

European leaders with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday. EPA

Turkey hosted talks in Istanbul soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which nearly led to an early end to the conflict. But the negotiations broke down before the warring parties could agree to the terms of a resolution.

Alongside the UN, Ankara also helped broker a deal in 2022 that allowed more than 30 million tonnes of grain to pass through the Black Sea despite the conflict, although Russia refused to renew the agreement in 2023, claiming some terms of the deal were not fulfilled.

Turkey has also in recent months hosted separate talks between the United States and Russia over diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries, involving technical talks over the functioning of their embassies and diplomatic appointments.

Under mounting international pressure to reach a ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine still have significant sticking points over how the war should end, and it is not clear that a permanent ceasefire will result from one meeting in Istanbul.

Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from four regions of the country claimed by Moscow, and for Kyiv to drop its ambitions to join Nato – a move that Ukrainian officials still want on the table. Ukraine rejects the idea of recognition of Russian sovereignty over areas of its territory.