Ukraine’s Zelenskyy open to meeting Putin in Turkey, Gulf or Europe to end war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Tuesday that any meetings he may hold with Russian President Vladimir Putin might take place in Turkey, the Gulf States, or Europe.

Zelenskyy wants direct discussions with Putin to help stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says no agenda has been set for such a meeting.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said, “Now, this week there will be contacts with Turkey, contacts with the Gulf States and with European states which could host talks with the Russians.”

“From our side, things will be prepared to the maximum in order to end the war.”

Zelenskyy spoke as his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he and Ukraine’s national security council chief were in Qatar to meet that country’s defence minister.

In his comments, Zelenskyy also said that moving ahead with talks depended on coordination with Ukraine’s partners, primarily the United States, in ensuring that sufficient pressure was exerted on Russia. This, he said, had been discussed on Monday in Kyiv with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg.

“Everything further depends strictly on the will of world leaders, most importantly the United States of America, to put pressure on Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

“Russia is only giving signals that it is going to continue to avoid real negotiations. This can only be changed by strong sanctions, strong tariffs – real pressure.”