Türkiye proposes to host Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting

KIEV

This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (2nd-R) and Ukraine's Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha (R) during their meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) in Kyiv on May 30, 2025, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Türkiye has proposed to host a summit with the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and the United States as it strives to broker an elusive deal to end Russia's three-year invasion.

Moscow said it was sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul for a second round of direct talks with Ukraine on June 2 — though Kiev has yet to confirm if it will attend.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fostered warm relations with both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, appearing to become a key mediator amid Donald Trump's push for a deal to end the over three-year war.

"We sincerely think that it is possible to cap the first and second direct Istanbul talks with a meeting between Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky, under the direction of Mr. Erdoğan," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Kiev on May 30.

"We can either close our eyes to the continuation of this war or reach a durable peace before the end of the year ... Expectations for a ceasefire and peace have increased."

In response, the Kremlin said Putin would only consider the proposed summit if negotiations with Kiev yield results.

"President Putin has repeatedly stated that he is fundamentally in favor of high-level contacts," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "First, results must be achieved through direct negotiations between the two countries."

Fidan met Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kiev. He held talks with Putin in Moscow earlier this week.

At talks in Istanbul on May 16 — the first in over three years — the sides agreed to swap documents outlining possible roadmaps to peace.

The Kremlin said it would hand over its version at the talks on June 2, but Kiev was pressuring Moscow to send a copy in advance.

Ukraine has for more than two months been urging Russia to agree to a full, unconditional and immediate 30-day ceasefire.

Putin has repeatedly rejected those calls, despite pressure from Washington and Europe, while the Russian army has intensified its advances in eastern Ukraine.

He has said that a ceasefire is possible as a result of negotiations, but that talks should focus on the "root causes" of the war.

Kiev and the West have rejected those calls and cast Russia's assault as nothing but an imperial-style land grab.

Russia's invasion in February 2022 triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II. Tens of thousands have been killed, swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, and millions forced to flee their homes.

Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated at both Zelensky and Putin for not having struck a deal yet.

At the talks earlier in May, Ukraine said Russia threatened to accelerate its ground offensive into new regions and made a host of maximalist demands, including that Kiev cede territory still under its control.

Along with its European allies, Ukraine has been ramping up pressure on Trump to hit Moscow with fresh sanctions — a step he has so far not taken.

"Talks of pauses in pressure or easing of sanctions are perceived in Moscow as a political victory — and only encourage further attacks and continued disregard for diplomacy," Zelensky said on May 30 on social media.

Russia, meanwhile, has been pressing its advance on the battlefield, with its forces claiming to have captured another village in the northeastern Kharkiv region.