There is no one to talk to – Zelenskyy on possibility of talks with Putin in Türkiye
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the possibility of holding talks with Vladimir Putin in Türkiye.
Source: Zelenskyy during February. The Year of Invincibility press conference
Details: When asked whether Zelenskyy would have sat down at the negotiating table if Putin had been waiting for him in Ankara, the president replied as follows:
Quote: "We talked about this [negotiations – ed.] before the war, and I told him (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – ed.): ‘Put Putin at the negotiating table, we cannot risk a full-scale war.’ He failed to do so then. And not only he... Now he thinks he can.
Now we can't... He [Putin – ed.] is not the same person; there is no one to talk to."
Details: Zelenskyy added that he was grateful to Erdoğan, in particular, for the Black Sea Grain Initiative and shelter for the defenders of Azovstal steelworks. He also emphasised that Erdogan had been informed of his position regarding the negotiations.
Background:
- Since the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion, Türkiye has offered to mediate to end the conflict.
- In Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to create a corridor from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea to Türkiye and on to their destination ports.
- In addition, Erdoğan mediated the exchange of the godfather of Putin's daughter, Viktor Medvedchuk, for Ukrainian prisoners, including the commanders who led the defence of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
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