US Envoy Witkoff to hold talks with Zelenskyy in Türkiye

Special envoy of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to visit Türkiye on November 19, Reuters reports, citing sources.

He will participate in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Earlier today, President Zelenskyy announced that he would visit Türkiye for talks on ending the ongoing war with Russia. The president said he had fresh proposals on this issue to present to international partners during the visit.

In mid‑May 2025, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in İstanbul in over three years, hosted by Türkiye. The meeting lasted under two hours, and while they failed to reach a ceasefire agreement, they agreed to a prisoner swap — 1,000 prisoners from each side.

A second round of talks took place on June 2, 2025, again in İstanbul. In this session, they expanded the deal: they agreed to exchange seriously wounded and sick POWs as well as soldiers aged 18–25. They also agreed to return the bodies of fallen soldiers, reportedly numbering about 6,000. Russia proposed short ceasefires of 2–3 days in certain frontline areas to facilitate the collection of bodies. However, Ukraine rejected a broader ceasefire.

In July 2025, a third round of the Istanbul talks was held around July 23. This session resulted in another prisoner exchange deal: 1,200 people from each side. Russia proposed short 24‑ to 48‑hour humanitarian ceasefires to allow the evacuation of wounded and recovery of bodies. They also suggested forming three online working groups covering political, humanitarian, and military issues.

Despite these agreements on exchanges and bodies, no lasting or comprehensive ceasefire was agreed upon in any of the rounds. Throughout the talks, Türkiye has played a central role as host and mediator, using its diplomatic leverage to bring both sides together.

By Khagan Isayev