Zelensky ready to meet Putin in Türkiye, hopes Erdoğan can broker summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Türkiye and voiced hope that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could help arrange a leaders' summit, a day after their talks in Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye and expressed hope that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could help arrange a leaders' summit. "If Türkiye can make this happen, we would accept it and would only be happy about it," Zelensky told Turkish broadcaster CNN Türk in an interview aired Sunday.

Zelensky said Erdoğan's relationships with U.S. President Donald Trump and with Putin could help move peace efforts forward. "We must move the hot phase of this war at least into a phase of diplomacy. Here, I am counting on Türkiye's mediation," he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Dolmabahçe office in Istanbul on Oct. 31, 2026

He also proposed reciprocal guarantees for merchant shipping in the Black Sea. Vessels flying the Turkish flag or other flags should be able to call at Ukrainian ports without being struck by Russia, he said, and Ukraine would likewise not attack Turkish-flagged ships calling at Russian ports.

The interview followed Zelensky's visit to Istanbul on Oct. 31, where he held talks with Erdoğan at the Dolmabahçe office. At a joint news conference, Erdoğan said Türkiye was ready to make every effort to open the path to peace and that "a just peace has no losers," while Zelensky said Ukraine supports trilateral leader-level meetings in Türkiye.

Trump said the same day that a deal to end the war was "very close." Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington is studying a Turkish proposal for a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea to protect grain shipments. Türkiye hosted three rounds of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul in 2025.