President Volodymyr Zelensky met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday, for a meeting which focused primarily on the diplomatic efforts surrounding Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, Erdoğan emphasized his government’s wish to revive the Istanbul process – a series of meetings between Ukrainian and Russian diplomats hosted by Turkey’s largest city – in light of Russia’s intensifying attacks, as per AFP.
On Wednesday alone, at least 25 people were confirmed dead in a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Ternopil, western Ukraine.
“We are of the view that revitalising the Istanbul process with a more comprehensive framework – one that can address the now-acute issues – would be beneficial,” Erdoğan said.
“We also expect all our partners who wish to see the bloodshed in the region come to an end to adopt a constructive approach toward the Istanbul process,” he added.
Zelensky said he hoped to resume prisoner swaps with Russia by the end of this year. Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only significant outcome of the last round of Istanbul talks, which took place between May and July.
A total 185 Ukrainian soldiers were returned home at the beginning of October – some of whom had been in Russian captivity since 2022.
Erdoğan stressed his readiness to discuss peace proposals with Moscow, adding that “we also value the involvement of our ally, the United States, in the process.”
However, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was reportedly expected to attend the Ankara meeting, did not attend.