Ukraine will continue its cooperation with Türkiye, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a visit to the capital, Ankara.
“We want concrete steps in defense cooperation,” Zelenskyy told reporters in an interview published early Wednesday.
The Ukrainian leader and Erdoğan held discussions on Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.
“Our discussions are always focused on specific issues. Today, we had a very substantive negotiation. While I cannot disclose all the details, I can say that I was pleased with it,” he said, thanking Ankara for its hospitality and support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted the need for comprehensive prisoner exchange, stressing that many Ukrainians, including Crimean Tatars, imprisoned for their religious beliefs, remain in Russian captivity and recall Erdoğan’s past efforts in securing prisoner releases.
He also highlighted Turkish-Ukrainian defense industry cooperation, noting ongoing talks with Turkish defense firm Baykar, collaborations on long-range drones and Türkiye’s construction of two corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy, with one completed and the other set for 2026.
Zelenskky said Türkiye and Ukraine’s trade volume exceeded $6 billion even during the war and expressed confidence that it would reach $10 billion following the approval of the Free Trade Agreement, inviting Erdoğan to Ukraine to implement it.
US-Russia talks
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Erdoğan notably coincided with a high-level official Washington-Moscow meeting in Saudi Arabia. This was the first meeting since the war began in February 2022 and reflected the extraordinary about-face in United States foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
“We want Trump to side more with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told reporters at the Esenboğa Airport in Ankara. “’Many Republicans and Democrats support us. I don’t want to lose support.”
Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks in Riyadh.
“We observe that they are taking (Russian President Vladimir) Putin out of political isolation, but it is their decision. They are negotiating,” Zelenskyy said.
He slammed Ukraine’s exclusion from the negotiations to end the war, questioning the legitimacy of any talks conducted without Kyiv’s participation.
He said that any talks to end the war should be “fair” and involve European countries, including Türkiye, which offered to host negotiations.
European allies have also expressed concerns that they are being sidelined.
Zelenskyy said that he had discussed European representation in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, mentioning that Macron had spoken with European Union leaders in France and that further talks are planned.
“When they say ‘these are our plans for the end of the war,’ it raises questions for us. Where are we? Where are we at this negotiating table? This war is taking place inside Ukraine. Putin is killing Ukrainians, not Americans. Not Europeans, either. Ukrainians are dying,” Zelenskyy said.
“We want a just peace, a lasting peace, a sustainable peace,” he added.
“One of the most important things in all this is that we have to move forward with people, with countries that can really give us security guarantees. If this is not the end of the war, but a cease-fire, then of course, this is an important step toward the end of the hot phase of the war,” he said.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine and Russia must be at the table for peace talks and that the EU and the entire European continent should be represented.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening, Erdoğan too argued Türkiye would be an ideal host for planned peace talks between Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine.
Türkiye has always supported peace between Russia and Ukraine and would provide all support to ensure that the negotiation process between the two countries leads to lasting peace.
“Given our active diplomacy over the last three years, Türkiye remains an ideal host for talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States,” he said.
Ankara was the first to host direct negotiations between the warring sides in March 2022 and helped broker the Black Sea grain deal, which helped avert a major global food crisis in the first year of fighting.
“Through all our efforts, we have sincerely strived to be a reliable mediator and have achieved concrete results,” Erdoğan said, adding that Trump’s current initiative to bring an end to the war aligns with the policy Ankara has pursued for the past three years.
In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.
He stressed, however, that the talks – which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and U.S. officials – marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done.
No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago.
Zelenskyy previously said his country would not accept any outcome from the talks because Kyiv did not participate and postponed his trip to Saudi Arabia, which was scheduled for Wednesday.
Trump showed little patience for Ukraine’s objections to being excluded from the talks. He said repeatedly that Ukraine’s leaders never should have allowed the war to begin, suggesting the country should have been willing to make concessions to Russia before the 2022 invasion.
NATO accession
Regarding NATO membership, Zelenskyy pointed out that most European leaders support Ukraine’s accession, except Slovakia, Hungary, Germany and the U.S.
“However, the U.S. factor plays a significant role in influencing these opinions,” he said, while also noting Erdoğan’s support for Ukraine’s NATO membership in the future.
“If NATO is not an option, what security guarantees are we talking about?” he asked, emphasizing that his country has a strong army but constantly needs weapons and money to support it.
Zelenskyy also said they need economic security guarantees: ” For this, we must join a big market like the European Union.”
Ukraine’s critical minerals
Referring to the U.S. draft proposal to give Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, Zelenskyy highlighted that it lacked security guarantees and would not be fair to Kyiv.
“I am always open to you investing in our country, investing in our natural resources. I am sure that our society supports this and our Parliament supports this. But if we are going to give something, we should get something in return. I think that’s what justice is,” he said.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine has significant natural resources, including natural gas, oil and rare earth elements, much of which is under Russian occupation, stressing the need to liberate these areas.
“We do not want to be a raw material hub for any continent. This is not about friendship or partnerships. It is written in our Constitution. As president, I will not violate the Constitution. I will protect our land and our interests,” he added.
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