Kyiv, Ankara deepen defence cooperation before talks with Moscow

The Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Ankara to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the scheduled third round of negotiations with Russia.

This was announced by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak via his Telegram channel, Caliber.Az reports.

“We discussed the security situation, challenges to regional stability, and prospects for further defense cooperation between our countries,” Yermak wrote on July 23.

The Ukrainian delegation is being led by the newly appointed National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who formerly headed the Ministry of Defence.

The Ukrainian officials also met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Akif Cagatay Kilic, chief adviser to Erdogan.

According to information published by Turkish Anadolu Agency, the third round of renewed Russia-Ukraine peace talks facilitated by Türkiye is set to begin in Istanbul on July 23 around 7 pm local time (1600GMT) at the historic Chiragan Palace.

The trilateral meeting involving delegations from Türkiye, Russia, and Ukraine will be chaired by Turkish FM Fidan.

The Istanbul meetings remain the only direct face-to-face interactions the two countries have held since the outbreak of the war in 2022, on the level of high-ranking officials, with the last two rounds having been held in 2022 and 2025, respectively.

By Nazrin Sadigova