Istanbul, Turkey — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Istanbul on Friday for talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the war with Russia and Black Sea grain shipments.
The meeting comes as Kyiv seeks to shore up more support from its NATO allies and as Ankara positions itself as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
Kyiv has faced mounting pressure on the front line in recent months, losing ground to Moscow amid hold-ups to Western aid from its biggest ally Washington.
The two leaders are to meet at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul and hold a press conference on Friday evening, according to the Turkish presidency.
Zelensky’s office said the pair will discuss Kyiv’s proposal to end the conflict — as well as “Black Sea navigation security, global food stability, and the release of Ukrainian prisoners and political prisoners held by the Russian state.”
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the two-year war, with Erdogan pitching himself as a key go-between and possible peace-maker.
A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP that Ankara “will once again emphasize that our strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, including Crimea, continues.”
‘Reached the limit’
Russia and Ukraine reported civilian casualties Friday, as both sides accused each other of striking deep behind enemy lines.
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod killed two people on Friday, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
In Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, on the other side of the border, a Russian drone attack on the town of Vovchansk killed a man and a woman in a car, regional head Oleg Sinegubov said.
Turkey hosted failed ceasefire talks between Kyiv and Moscow in the first weeks of the war and wants to revive them.
“Both sides have now reached the limit of what they can achieve through war,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this month. “We think it’s time to start a dialogue towards a ceasefire.”
Turkey’s strategic location on the Black Sea and its control of the Bosphorus Strait gives it a unique military, political and economic role in the conflict.
In July 2022, Ankara with the United Nations brokered the Black Sea grain deal, the most significant diplomatic agreement so far reached between Kyiv and Moscow.
Moscow ditched the initiative — which allowed the safe passage of Ukrainian agricultural exports across the mine-laden Black Sea — a year later, complaining that the terms were unfair.
Russia-Turkey relations
Since the collapse of the grain deal, Kyiv has used an alternative shipping route hugging the coastline to avoid contested international waters.
Turkey has been lobbying hard for an agreement to ensure cargo can once again navigate those waters in safety.
Prisoner-of-war swaps will also be on the agenda.
After a visit to Turkey last year, Zelensky went home with five top commanders from the Azov regiment who were supposed to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict under a prisoner exchange deal with Moscow.
Turkey’s Western allies have expressed concern over its relations with Moscow. Ankara is reliant on Russian energy and has faced scrutiny as Russia seeks to avoid Western trading restrictions.
The United States has sanctioned several Turkish companies for helping Russia purchase goods that could be used by its armed forces.
The Erdogan-Zelensky meeting comes a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Fidan at a diplomatic forum in Antalya.
President Vladimir Putin was to visit Turkey last month, but postponed the trip, according to Turkish and Russian media citing diplomatic sources.
The Kremlin has said it is rescheduling the visit but has given no date.