Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Istanbul to discuss the terms for ending the war.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN Türk in Istanbul
Quote: "This war must end. We must unite to move this war from its hot phase into at least a diplomatic one. In this context, I hope for Türkiye's mediation. Personally, I believe that our relations with the President [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] and his relations with Trump and Putin could prove useful.
Today, we once again discussed holding a trilateral meeting of leaders in Türkiye. Of course, if Türkiye can organise it, we will be happy to agree to it."
Details: Zelenskyy noted that the meeting of technical teams scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi and a meeting of the leaders are "parallel processes".
"Our technical teams will hold negotiations. However, we believe that a meeting of the leaders is a necessary condition. The issues that can be discussed by the technical teams are clearly defined. Some others, however, must be considered at the level of leaders," he said.
According to Zelenskyy, the technical teams will discuss issues including an energy ceasefire, a maritime ceasefire and prisoner exchanges. They may also discuss preparations for a meeting of the leaders.
The main item on the leaders' agenda, meanwhile, would be "ensuring an unconditional, comprehensive and complete ceasefire and monitoring it through a robust mechanism".
Other issues for the leaders to discuss include security guarantees, Ukraine's reconstruction and territorial matters.
"Of course, we will not give up our territories. We cannot recognise that our eastern territories, including Crimea, which is under temporary Russian occupation, belong to Russia... Russia wants this and is trying to convey it to us through various mediators. However, this is neither a sensible nor a reasonable approach. Therefore, our priority is to secure a ceasefire along the current line of contact and only then discuss other issues," Zelenskyy said.
Background: Zelenskyy said on 31 October that he had discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the possibility of Türkiye taking part in negotiations on ending Russia's war against Ukraine and the possibility of holding a meeting on the matter in Türkiye.
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