Zelenskyy announces meeting with Turkish President Erdoğan on May 15
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he will travel to Ankara and plans to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan there on May 15.
According to Censor.NET, citing Suspilne, Zelenskyy made this statement during a media briefing.
He also said he expects to meet with the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Turkey.
"I will be in Turkey on the 15th (of May), ready to meet with Putin. This is another signal to the United States, particularly to President Trump. I insisted on the meeting — they couldn’t agree. One spoke about a ceasefire, the other rejected any ceasefire," Zelenskyy noted.
The President of Ukraine added that if Putin flies to Istanbul, he and Erdoğan will go to meet him.
Zelenskyy also said he would be traveling with a delegation but did not specify its composition.
Background:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said that Ukraine is ready for meetings and negotiations in any format after a complete ceasefire.
In turn, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin rejected the "Coalition of the Willing" proposal for a ceasefire starting May 12 and instead suggested resuming direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Ukraine and Russia could begin peace negotiations — and that the day would be a significant one for both countries.
On May 11, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which he emphasized that Turkey is ready to do everything possible to help ensure a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Later, Trump called on Ukraine to accept the proposal to meet with Russia in Turkey.
Shortly afterward, Zelenskyy issued a statement on a ceasefire and talks with Russia.
