Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Istanbul on Friday where he will be received by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the presidency and the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.
“The situation between Ukraine and Russia and the latest contacts concerning the relaunch of a secure corridor in the Black Sea” will be at the center of the meeting, according to a press release from the presidency posted on the X network.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified, in a separate press release, that the meeting would be held at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, where Mr. Erdogan already received Zelensky in July 2023. A press conference is announced at the end of the day, at 7:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. GMT) according to the same source.
A first major interview with Erdogan in July
The Ukrainian president made his first visit to Turkey at the beginning of July since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. He then had a long interview with the Turkish president, who maintains close ties with both kyiv and Moscow.
Against all expectations, Volodymyr Zelensky, who had then left Turkey discreetly, reappeared in kyiv in the company of prisoners from the Azov battalion, including his commander and his deputy.
The five men were captured by Russian forces after the fall of Mariupol in May 2022 and were the subject of a prisoner exchange under which Ankara agreed to keep them on its territory.