Zelensky And Erdogan Discuss Holding Peace Talks Between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. In Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Ankara could serve as an intermediary in upcoming negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war after holding talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday.

“We are now preparing for a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and Russia – in the first half of November. President Erdoğan and I discussed the prospects for this format and other possibilities, including ways to involve Türkiye, Europe, and all our partners, as well as the possibility of holding meetings here in Türkiye,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Erdoğan.

“We are pleased that initiatives aimed at ending the conflict have regained momentum … we are ready to make every possible effort to pave the way for peace,” the Turkish leader proclaimed at the same conference.

He also highlighted Turkey’s previous role in hosting bilateral negotiations that produced “concrete results.”

Indeed, this would not be the first time Turkey has hosted talks to end the conflict. As early as March 2022, one month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey played host to Ukraine’s then-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In addition, in July of that same year Turkey helped negotiate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement which allowed Ukraine to export grain – Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world – and fertilizer to the rest of the world through a safe maritime corridor from its ports.

Turkey also mediated bilateral talks in May 2025 which led to a large-scale prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv.

Despite the prospect of renewed negotiations, hostilities in eastern Europe continued unabated over the weekend, with Zelensky confirming early on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian missile production facility. Earlier, the Ukrainian leader had claimed that, overnight, Ukrainian energy infrastructure in four regions had come under Russian attack after another intense week of bombardment.

“This past week Russia has launched 1,940 attack drones, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, and 44 missiles of various types against Ukraine, including 36 ballistic missiles,” the Ukrainian leader reported.

He also stressed the need for Ukraine to acquire patriot missiles, the weapon most capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missile attacks, from the U.S. after its supply ran dry in October.

Washington, despite its increasingly fraught relations with Kyiv and warming relations with the Kremlin, announced on Friday that it had approved a potential sale of 500 Patriot interceptor missiles for $2.1 billion to Ukraine, but Zelensky warned that it could take “several years” for the missiles to arrive.