On November 1, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey. He hopes that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, will assist in organizing these negotiations.
The Need for High-Level Meeting
Zelensky emphasized that a high-level meeting is critically important, as previous contacts have not led to an end to the war. He noted that the main topics of the negotiations should include:
- ceasefire along the front line;
- establishing a mechanism for monitoring compliance;
- security guarantees;
- Ukraine's reconstruction;
- territorial issues.
Direct Dialogue as the Key to Conflict Resolution
The Ukrainian president stressed the importance of having the opportunity to discuss issues directly with the decision-maker, namely Putin. According to Zelensky, some issues cannot be resolved at the level of delegations and technical groups, thus a direct dialogue is necessary.
Previous Attempts to Organize a Meeting
Interestingly, this is not Zelensky's first attempt to organize a meeting with Putin. Back in May 2025, he was willing to meet the Russian leader in Istanbul, but Putin refused. In June 2026, Zelensky again sent an open letter to Putin proposing to set a specific date for negotiations.