Ukraine’s Zelensky meets Turkish president as word emerges of new US peace push
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Ankara on Nov 19.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Zelensky met Erdogan to discuss a "just peace" for Ukraine amid a corruption scandal that saw ministers dismissed.
- Washington is reportedly discussing peace proposals with Russia, without Ukraine's involvement, leading to a bond price surge.
- US Army officials are in Kyiv for a "fact-finding mission"; Russia says Putin is open to discussing outcomes with the US and Turkey.
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ANKARA/KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with Turkey’s president on Nov 19 and was due to meet US Army officials in Kyiv on Nov 20, as word emerged that Washington was discussing possible peace conditions with Russia.
A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that Kyiv had received “signals” about a set of US proposals to end the war that Washington has discussed with Russia.
Ukraine has had no role in preparing the proposals, the source said.
Signs of a renewed US-led push to end the war triggered the biggest jump in Ukraine’s government bond prices in months on Nov 19.
No face-to-face talks have taken place between Kyiv and Moscow since a meeting in Istanbul in July and Russian forces have pressed on with Moscow’s nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine, killing 25 people in strikes overnight.
Efforts to revive peace negotiations appear to be gaining momentum, although Moscow has shown no sign of changing its terms for ending the war.
Mr Zelensky met President Tayyip Erdogan after visits to Greece, France and Spain that went ahead despite a political crisis in Ukraine over a corruption scandal
Mr Zelensky has remained focused on the war effort and said on Nov 18 he was preparing to “reinvigorate negotiations” and discuss with Mr Erdogan how to bring a “just peace” to Ukraine.
“Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s top priority,” he said on Nov 18.
Russian forces control about 19 per cent of Ukrainian territory and are grinding forwards, while carrying out frequent attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure as winter approaches.
Turkey, a Nato member that has remained close to both sides, hosted an initial round of peace talks in the early weeks of the war in 2022, the only such talks until this year when US President Donald Trump launched a new bid to end the fighting.
The Kremlin said Russian representatives would not be involved in the talks but that President Vladimir Putin was open to conversations with the US and Turkey about the results of the discussions.
Secret roadmap
Axios reported on Nov 18 that Washington has been secretly working on a roadmap to end the war in consultation with Russia.
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Nov 19: “So far there are no innovations on this that can be reported to you.”
Russia’s leader has long demanded Kyiv renounce plans to join the US-led Nato military alliance and withdraw its troops from four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia. Moscow has given no indication that it has dropped any of those demands and Ukraine says it will not accept them.
A US delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is in Kyiv on a “fact-finding mission”, the US embassy in Kyiv said. Army Chief of Staff Randy George is also in the delegation and he and Mr Driscoll will meet Mr Zelensky on Nov 20, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A Turkish source said US special envoy Steve Witkoff could also visit Turkey, but there was no announcement of such a visit from US officials.
Another source, at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, said Turkish officials would meet only Mr Zelensky, and Mr Witkoff was not expected to be part of the Ankara meetings. REUTERS
