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Ukraine’s Türkiye Ambassador Nariman Dzhelyal said Kyiv will soon host President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Quoted by the RBC-Ukraine website on Monday, Dzhelyal stated that they were working to schedule the visit following a personal invitation to Erdoğan by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The envoy said ratification of a free trade agreement between the two countries will likely be discussed during the Turkish leader’s visit. “This visit requires significant effort, as many issues are hindering its realization,” Dzhelyal said.
Erdoğan paid a visit to Ukraine in August 2022, his first since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and held a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In that visit, Erdoğan pledged assistance to Ukraine for rebuilding and recovery. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, is a frequent visitor to Türkiye and last met Erdoğan in Ankara in May.
Last month, Erdoğan told reporters that Türkiye wanted to bring together leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the United States to achieve peace in the ongoing war.
Additionally, last month, Türkiye hosted a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul. The rival sides met earlier in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 amid U.S. pressure to agree on a cease-fire to end the three-year-old conflict. Despite the urging of U.S. President Donald Trump, no breakthrough was made.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have so far only agreed to hold prisoner exchanges. And Russia has since launched intense air attacks on Ukraine and seized more front line territory.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine give up four regions, on top of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine should abandon any plans to join the NATO military alliance.
Ukraine has rejected the demands and expressed doubt that Russia wants a cease-fire.
Ankara is keen on boosting its international profile as a key mediator and utilizes Istanbul’s symbolic location to promote diplomacy between the parties involved in conflicts and disagreements on a global level.
NATO member Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of maintaining friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has garnered widespread praise for its efforts to end the war.
While Ankara has opposed international sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow, it has also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
Dzhelyal said on Monday that ratification of a free trade agreement is important for Ukrainian businesses and strategic partnerships.
Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv is working on a list of prisoners to be exchanged with Russia, which the two sides agreed upon during their latest talks in Türkiye last month.
This came following his meeting with National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, on the implementation of agreements reached in Istanbul.
After the third round of talks, Ukraine proposed a meeting of the heads of state before the end of August, and the two sides reached a consensus on continuing to exchange prisoners of war.
Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia’s delegation at the talks, said at a press conference following the talks that both sides had completed an earlier exchange involving 1,200 prisoners of war from each side, but confirmed that they also agreed on a new prisoner swap in the same format.
“Among the key issues is the continuation of POW (prisoners of war) exchanges. There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people and work on the lists is ongoing,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on X, noting that Umerov, who led Ukraine’s delegation at the Istanbul talks, reported to him on communications with the Russian representative.
“We are also working to unblock the return of our civilians and are verifying data on each individual,” Zelenskyy further said.
He also said that Yermak reported to him on Ukraine’s coordination with its partners in supporting Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts, particularly with the U.S., among other issues.
