President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Ukrainian leader expressed his personal gratitude to President Erdoğan and all of Türkiye for their consistent stance in supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul on May 16. The President of Ukraine emphasized that while the exchange of prisoners was an important outcome of the meeting, unfortunately, it was the only one. The Ukrainian leader noted that a ceasefire is necessary to move forward toward peace – the killing of people must stop.
The Presidents discussed the possibility of their next meeting in Istanbul and the conditions under which Ukraine would be prepared to participate. Both leaders share the view that such a meeting cannot and must not be merely symbolic. They also discussed the potential for organizing quadrilateral talks at the level of leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and the United States.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to take part in the Ukraine – Southeast Europe Summit.
The Ukrainian leader thanked the President of Türkiye for the steps and ideas that could lead to the necessary results.