President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara. He made the announcement at a briefing.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, 15 May. Zelenskyy is also looking forward to meeting with Putin.
‘So that Russia does not manipulate cities and say that Putin is not ready to come to Ankara, but is only ready to come to Istanbul, I want to say right away that if Putin comes to Istanbul and not to the capital, I have conveyed the signal to President Erdogan, and the Turkish side is ready for President Erdogan and me to fly to Istanbul,’ Zelenskyy said.
US President Donald Trump was also invited to join. His arrival would be an additional incentive for Putin to come. If Putin says that he does not want to talk, but is ready for a ceasefire, this opens the way for talks at lower levels. Then negotiating groups of countries will be able to meet.
If that fails, Ukraine expects sanctions from the US and EU.