Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listed Türkiye among the countries Kyiv is in touch with for a second summit on peace to resolve the ongoing conflict with Russia.
He said negotiations were ongoing with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Türkiye and Switzerland regarding the summit in a conversation with Indian journalists, which he shared on his social media on Sunday.
Zelenskyy also said that he told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he would support India hosting the second summit on peace but added that Ukraine could not organize it in a country that did not sign the communique from the previous summit.
Switzerland hosted a Ukraine peace summit on June 16, but Russia was not invited to the summit attended by representatives of more than 90 countries and international bodies. Eighty countries and four bodies approved the Bürgenstock Declaration at the end of the summit.
Participants at the peace summit have agreed to take steps on specific issues like food security, humanitarian issues, the return of prisoners and energy. Zelenskyy has said earlier that Ukraine wanted to hold a second summit this year with a Russian representative in attendance.
Türkiye has positioned itself as an intermediary in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was a key player in brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Shortly after the conflict broke out in February 2022, Türkiye hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, and there were unsuccessful talks between negotiators from the two countries to end the hostilities.
Türkiye was instrumental in implementing a now-on-hold deal that allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea despite the blockade of its ports. 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 is ready to host a peace summit with Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in March, as he met with Zelenskyy in Istanbul. "We are ready to host a peace summit between the two countries," Erdoğan told reporters in a joint news conference, as he noted that Türkiye is ready to provide all support to facilitate a new agreement between the two warring countries.
Pledging full support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, the president said Ankara would also support efforts to reach a new agreement regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative. "Türkiye supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and will strongly contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war ends," he said.
