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Turkey is ready to host a high-level meeting between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Tayyip Erdogan said Friday after talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenski in Istanbul, adding that Ankara supports Kiev's territorial integrity.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Mr Zelensky, President Erdogan said he had discussed developments related to the war in detail, as well as the security of navigation in the Black Sea, including the agreement on grain exports, from which Russia withdrew in August last year.
He also said that Turkey will strongly contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine once the war ends.
Before the meeting, President Zelenskiy visited a shipyard near Istanbul to inspect the production work of two warships for the Ukrainian naval forces.
Turkey is a member of NATO and has supported Ukraine's territorial integrity, but it has also maintained good relations with Russia and regularly talks with both sides in the conflict. She was engaged in brokering talks to reach an agreement on the export of wheat through the Black Sea, which lifted a de facto Russian blockade of Ukrainian wheat exports.
Mr Zelensky's visit to Istanbul comes ahead of an expected visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has said will take place after Russia's March 15-17 elections.
President Zelensky's office said the agenda for talks with Mr Erdogan included a peace formula aimed at ending the war with Russia, the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Moscow and bilateral defense relations.
At the start of the meeting, Mr. Zelensky said on the X social media platform that Ankara and Kiev should work together to achieve food security and navigation safety in the Black Sea, adding that Ukraine also wanted stronger ties in the field of defense with Turkey and needed its help to secure the release of the prisoners.
"We are interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation and co-production of weapons with Turkish defense companies," he said.
A Turkish diplomatic source said Ankara would reiterate its desire to end the war "through negotiations", also stressing continued strong support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at a diplomatic forum in southern Turkey that the time had come for Kiev and Moscow to start talks on a ceasefire. /VOA
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