Zelenskiy Heads to Turkey for ‘Important’ Talks as Abu Dhabi Trilateral Looms
Zelenskiy’s Istanbul trip is the latest move in a diplomatic sequence Kyiv hopes ends at a three-way table in Abu Dhabi next month.
Highlights
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he would hold ‘important’ talks in Turkey
- Erdogan’s communications director said Zelenskiy would meet President Erdogan on Saturday in Istanbul
- Zelenskiy hopes a trilateral meeting with US and Russian negotiators will take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6 and 10
- Kyiv also wants Europe involved in the talks on ending the war
- Turkey has repeatedly offered to facilitate talks, and hosted several Ukrainian-Russian meetings since 2022
Another Istanbul round
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he would be holding “important” talks in Turkey as part of diplomatic efforts after more than four and a half years of war with Russia Reuters.
Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy set out what Kyiv is working toward:
“Important negotiations will take place in Turkey. We are also working to ensure that all available diplomatic opportunities are pursued… We expect that in November we will be able to move towards the formats that have been under discussion for such a long time.” — Volodymyr Zelenskiy Reuters
President Tayyip Erdogan’s communications director, Burhanettin Duran, also said on X that Zelenskiy would meet Erdogan on Saturday in Istanbul Reuters.
The Abu Dhabi objective
Zelenskiy said this week that he hoped a trilateral meeting with peace negotiators would take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6 and 10, and that Kyiv also wanted Europe to be involved in the talks on how to end the war Reuters.
Turkey has repeatedly offered to help facilitate talks aimed at ending the war, and Ukrainian and Russian officials have held several meetings in the country since Moscow’s 2022 invasion Reuters.
The gap that remains
The diplomatic motion is real, but so is the distance. Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Russia’s position on the conflict was unchanged, and described Zelenskiy’s comments on maintaining strikes on Russian targets as unhelpful in preparing for new talks Reuters. Both sides say they are willing to hold further three-sided talks with the US for the first time since early in the year Reuters — which is why Istanbul matters: it is where the format for Abu Dhabi may be set, even if the substance remains stuck. The week’s other Ukraine story, the Oleshky evacuation, showed cooperation is possible on narrow files; Saturday’s meeting tests whether it can widen.
