Zelenskyy ready to meet Putin in Istanbul for peace talks, Ukrainian FM says

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Friday said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul to discuss peace, adding Kyiv wants to end the war with Moscow through political negotiations. "President Zelenskyy is ready to come and meet with President Putin here, of course, with (Turkish) President Erdogan and maybe (US) President Trump," Sybiha told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.

Red lines

"Ukraine will never accept any formula, any initiative at the cost of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. We are committed to peace efforts. We want to end this war and our people's suffering. We are ready to speed up peace efforts," he added. "We are ready for the unconditional ceasefire, and we have doable proposals on how to proceed. It is not acceptable and possible for us to withdraw troops from Donbas, as the Russian side demands; it is not possible."

Türkiye's role

Sybiha stressed that the process must move forward solely and entirely through diplomatic means. "You (Türkiye) have a unique diplomatic experience. You have the appropriate political and diplomatic tools to proceed with such a very difficult task. Ukraine is ready for such a type of meeting in your country," he said.

Ukraine-Türkiye relations

He noted that trade volume between Ukraine and Türkiye was expanding and said the Free Trade Agreement was currently in the ratification process in Kyiv. Sybiha underlined that the Black Sea should be "a sea of peace," expressing hope that cooperation between the two countries would contribute to security in the Black Sea. He also stressed that Ukraine expects Turkish companies to take part in reconstruction efforts.

Syria relations

On Syria, Sybiha said Ukraine was interested in improving relations with the country. He noted that during a trilateral meeting between Türkiye, Ukraine and Syria, the sides discussed cooperation on agriculture, security cooperation and logistics. He said Ukraine and Türkiye were cooperating in agriculture to supply wheat to Syria.

Defense agreements

Regarding Zelenskyy's visits to Gulf countries, Sybiha said Ukraine had reached long-term defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. He added that drone agreements between European countries and Ukraine were an important element of Europe's security system.