Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday said that Türkiye hopes to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the next possible round of peace negotiations.

Mr Fidan said in a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiha, that U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Erdogan would also attend the meeting.

“We believe that the first and second talks held in Istanbul could potentially be crowned by a meeting hosted by President Erdogan, bringing together President Trump, President Putin, and President Zelenskyy.

“Peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv held in Istanbul on May 16 have added a ‘new dimension’ to the search for a diplomatic solution,” Mr Fidan said.  

On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in three years in the Turkish metropolis, where the two sides notably agreed to a large-scale exchange of prisoners involving 1,000 people from each side.

Both sides, during the talks facilitated by Türkiye, also agreed to continue negotiations for a truce.

Mr Fidan emphasised that the completion of the exchange agreement between Russia and Ukraine reached in Istanbul showed that the peace talks could yield concrete results.

He expressed Ankara’s desire to maintain the momentum achieved in Istanbul.

Referring to “critical crossroads” in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and pointing to the May 16 Istanbul peace talks, Mr Fidan said that there were two paths ahead.

“Either we’ll tolerate the continuation of this (Moscow-Kyiv) war, or we will reach lasting peace within this year,” he noted.

The foreign minister stressed Ankara’s desire to reach a “just and lasting peace” via dialogue and to end the war.

The Ukraine war has raised certain questions about the European security architecture, Mr Fidan said.

He added that Mr Trump’s taking office in January brought a new equation, causing uncertainties in Europe-U.S. relations.

“But as Türkiye, we have always maintained the following focus: the cities destroyed in the war are Ukrainian cities.

“The people who have died are Ukrainian soldiers. Therefore, we need to stop the devastating impact caused by this war as soon as possible,” he said.

(AA/NAN)