Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in Türkiye on Friday to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Presidency's Directorate of Communications said.
In a post on social media platform X, the directorate said the leaders will discuss the course of the Ukraine-Russia war, the revival of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, efforts to facilitate permanent peace in the region and bilateral relations.
Zelenskyy's surprise visit comes as Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) Ibrahim Kalın are in the U.S.
Türkiye was a key player in the now-on-hold deal that allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea despite the blockade of its ports after Moscow launched its invasion in late February 2022.
The accord, brokered by Ankara and the United Nations in July 2022, ended after Moscow refused to renew it. Ankara has ramped up efforts to try to revive the initiative.
Türkiye has positioned itself as an intermediary in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Erdoğan was a key player in brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Moscow withdrew from the accord on July 17, accusing the West of hampering its own grain and fertilizer exports, and has since attacked Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure. It has said that it was ready to return to the deal once an accompanying agreement concerning Russia was implemented.
