Diplomacy Sprint! Zelensky Hits 4 Capitals in Days — Now Meets Erdogan for Peace Push
Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey will meet in Ankara on Wednesday. The Ukrainian president stated his desire to “intensify” peace talks.”Bringing the end of the war closer with all our might is Ukraine’s top priority,” Zelensky said, adding that efforts will also concentrate on restarting prisoner exchanges.It was uncertain whether US delegates would participate. Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, was said to be attending the negotiations, although his presence had not been verified hours before the scheduled meeting. Turkey has maintained relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, and it has held negotiations between the two groups in the past.However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that no Russian official will be attending the conference in Ankara.He continued by saying that Vladimir Putin was “of course open to a conversation” even if there were “no concrete plans” for him to communicate with either the Turkish side or US special envoy Steve Witkoff.In only a few days, Zelensky will visit four capitals, including Ankara. He struck an agreement to acquire up to 100 fighter planes in Paris, negotiated a gas contract in Athens, and discussed collaboration with Spanish armaments producers in Madrid. As Russian operations on Ukraine escalate and Moscow’s forces encroach on the strategically important eastern city of Pokrovsk, Zelensky is making these trips in an effort to bolster European support for the nation. Zelensky is dealing with the worst domestic crisis in a long time. Two ministers have resigned, and other members of his inner circle are being investigated for their roles in orchestrating a massive criminal conspiracy.
