Zelensky ready to meet Putin in Turkey, hopes Erdogan will help arrange talks
Zelensky says direct talks could address ceasefire, monitoring, security guarantees and reconstruction, and rejects ceding Donbas or recognising Crimea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is willing to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Turkey and expressed hope that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could help arrange the talks, during an interview with CNN Turk.
"We are ready for this meeting in Turkey. I know that President Erdogan has his own connections with Putin. Therefore we support holding a meeting in Turkey," Zelensky said.
Why a face‑to‑face meeting
Zelensky argued that presidential-level, direct negotiations are necessary because previous contacts between delegations and technical working groups have not stopped the war. He said a face‑to‑face encounter could address issues left unresolved in those talks.
"That is exactly why I want to meet with him — as the person who makes the decisions," he added.
The president said the main topics at a potential meeting should include an immediate ceasefire and a mechanism to monitor compliance, as well as security guarantees, Ukraine's reconstruction and the status of occupied areas. He rejected Russian demands that Ukraine cede the Donbas or recognise Crimea as Russian territory, saying such concessions would violate Ukraine's constitution.
Zelensky also commented on the possibility of attending the G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December. He said Ukraine had not yet received an official invitation from Washington but that there were signals US President Donald Trump might invite Ukraine as part of an initiative to end the war. "It is impossible. You cannot decide the fate of Ukraine without Ukraine," he stressed, rejecting the idea that other countries could determine Ukraine's future without Kyiv's participation.
Photo: press material from the event
