Erdogan had publicly stated that he hoped to bring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky together for talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later today at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Erdogan had publicly stated that he hoped to bring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky together for talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Turkish sources say that the government hopes to organize a summit in Istanbul on 25 November to propose a cease-fire and establish a committee to explore ways to return Ukraine and Russia’s borders to what they were in 2014.
Erdogan’s decision to reach out to Russia comes as the U.S. and Russia have both announced their intention to have talks. The White House national security spokesperson John Kirby stated that the United States was willing to have talks, but Russia refused. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they had „not yet“ been offered any contact from the US. The Russian foreign ministry has also reiterated its desire for diplomacy and blamed the United States for preventing it.
On the upcoming Putin-Erdogan meeting, Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide, said that Erdogan may offer suggestions for peace, suggesting that “a very interesting and I hope successful discussion awaits us.”
Negotiations are more likely to be successful when most of the stakeholders signal that they’re willing to find a middle ground. The statements from the United States and Russia imply that there may be a willingness to get started.
Ukrainian counter-offensives on the battlefield might have given Putin and Zelensky reasons to communicate with each other. While Zelensky can present the situation where Ukrainian forces regained control of areas as a victory for Ukrainians, Putin can do the same thing to his people, saying that his offensive goals were met and giving hope to Russians that anti-Moscow sanctions could be discussed and alleviated.
