Ukrainian foreign minister says potential Zelenskyy-Putin talks could be held in Türkiye

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday that potential talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin could be held in Türkiye as part of efforts to end the war.

“We state that negotiations, particularly a possible meeting between President Zelenskyy and Putin, could take place in Türkiye,” Sybiha told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kyiv.

Sybiha said direct talks at the highest level could help advance efforts to end the war.

“I believe only a summit of leaders can inject new momentum into the peace process,” he said.

He praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to end the conflict and described Ankara as one of the world’s leading centers of diplomacy.

“We must make the greatest possible use of diplomacy and sit at the negotiating table to end this war,” Sybiha said.

He said Ukraine had repeatedly called for steps to end the conflict and had “real proposals” on how peace could be achieved.

“As Ukraine, we are ready for a ceasefire,” he added.

Sybiha, however, stressed that Kyiv would not accept any settlement undermining the country’s sovereignty or territorial integrity.

“Ukraine will not accept any solution that harms our territorial integrity or sovereignty,” he said.

Turning to bilateral relations, Sybiha recalled that the Ukrainian parliament recently ratified the Türkiye-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, describing the move as historic.

Türkiye is Ukraine’s third-largest trading partner, he said, adding that the agreement’s entry into force was expected to further increase annual bilateral trade.

Sybiha also said the NATO summit in Ankara, where an assistance package for Ukraine was announced, had been highly significant for Kyiv.

“For this reason, the NATO summit was very important for us,” he said.

The two foreign ministers also discussed a Türkiye-Ukraine-Syria trilateral cooperation mechanism during their meeting, according to Sybiha.

On Black Sea security, Sybiha said: “The region’s security architecture had been almost entirely destroyed since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.”

He described Türkiye as an invaluable actor in ensuring the freedom and safety of navigation in the Black Sea.

“We must restore the security balance in the Black Sea,” he said. “With its presence and naval fleet in the Black Sea, Türkiye is currently NATO’s strongest country in this regard.”