Turkish foreign minister meets with Ukrainian President, reaffirms support for Kyiv

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, underlining ongoing diplomatic engagement between Ankara and Kyiv.

The meeting reflects Türkiye’s continued commitment to supporting Ukraine amid the ongoing regional challenges, Caliber.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

As part of his visit, Foreign Minister Fidan also held discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, focusing on the resolution of the ongoing conflict with Russia.

“Türkiye hopes to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with attendance of US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the next possible round of peace negotiations,” Fidan told a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on May 30.

“We believe that the first and second talks held in Istanbul could potentially be crowned by a meeting hosted by President Erdogan, bringing together President Trump, President Putin, and President Zelenskyy,” Fidan said.

Peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv held in Istanbul on May 16 have added a “new dimension” to the search for a diplomatic solution, Fidan added. 

On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in three years in the Turkish metropolis, where the two sides notably agreed to a large-scale exchange of prisoners involving a total of 1,000 people from each side.​​​​​​​

Both sides, during the talks facilitated by Türkiye, also agreed to continue negotiations for a truce.

Emphasizing the completion of the exchange agreement between Russia and Ukraine reached in Istanbul showed that the peace talks can yield concrete results, Fidan said, expressing Ankara’s desire to maintain the momentum achieved in Istanbul.

Referring to "critical crossroads" in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and pointing to the May 16 Istanbul peace talks, Fidan said that there are two paths ahead.

“Either we'll tolerate the continuation of this (Moscow-Kyiv) war or we will reach lasting peace within this year,” he noted, stressing Ankara’s desire to reach a “just and lasting peace” via dialogue and to end the war.

By Vafa Guliyeva