ANKARA, Turkiye: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reiterated his willingness to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian presidents in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
“My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring (US President) Mr (Donald) Trump to their side, if they accept,” Erdogan said.
Turkiye, he said, would “take steps” to facilitate such a meeting, following direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on Monday.
Erdogan said it was a big achievement that Monday’s talks even took place.
“It is a success in itself that the meeting happened despite what happened yesterday,” he said, hailing the talks as “magnificent”.
At Monday’s meeting, which lasted just over an hour, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange severely injured prisoners of war as well as those under 25, alongside the remains of 6,000 troops killed in combat, Kyiv said.
“These figures given by both Russia and Ukraine… (are) very, very important in terms of showing how important these Istanbul meetings are. And we are proud of this,” Erdogan added.
Russia, Ukraine swap peace roadmaps
During Istanbul talks on Monday, Russia and Ukraine swapped plans for ending their three-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any deal must not “reward” Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but said Kyiv was willing to take the “necessary steps for peace”.
Urged on by US President Donald Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion, but have yet to make progress towards an agreement.
Monday’s talks come a day after Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil — using drones to hit dozens of strategic bombers parked at airbases thousands of kilometres behind the front line, AFP reported.
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A first round of meetings in Istanbul last month yielded a large-scale prisoner exchange but no pause in the fighting.
On Monday the delegations “exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Vilnius just after the talks in Istanbul concluded.
“The key to lasting peace is clear, the aggressor must not receive any reward for war. Putin must get nothing that would justify his aggression,” he added.
Opening the talks at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the “eyes of the entire world” were watching.
Zelensky had said Kyiv was “ready to take the necessary steps for peace”, though the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions have long appeared irreconcilable.
‘Immediate ceasefire’
“If they are ready to move forward, not just repeat the same previous ultimatums, then there may be good and big news today,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation said ahead of the talks.
Ukraine wants a “full and unconditional ceasefire” to allow space to then discuss a long-term settlement.
Moscow says it wants to address the “root causes” of the conflict — language typically used to refer to a mix of demands including limiting Ukraine’s military, banning the country from joining NATO and massive territorial concessions.
After months of setbacks for Kyiv’s military, Ukraine said it had carried out an audacious attack on Sunday, damaging some 40 strategic Russian bombers worth $7 billion in a major special operation. – Agencies
