Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he may speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump
Istanbul : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he may speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump this week to explore the possibility of holding a summit in Istanbul.
"In the coming period -- possibly even within this week -- we will seek to hold further talks with Putin and also with Trump," he told reporters in Istanbul on Friday.
"We will see if we can bring these leaders together in Istanbul. That is our effort."
Erdogan said that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held separate meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations before the start of the third round of talks over the Ukraine crisis held in Istanbul on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
He added that, prior to their arrival in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation also met with him in Ankara.
During the peace talks, the two sides agreed on another prisoner exchange but clashed over ceasefire terms and the prospect of a presidential summit.
The Ukrainian side proposed holding a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "by the end of August," saying the participation of Trump and Erdogan would be "especially valuable".
The Russian delegation said that such a meeting is not under consideration until certain processes are completed.
Ukraine closed out its third round of direct talks with Russia on Wednesday with a proposal to hold a "leaders' summit" by the end of August with Zelensky, Putin, Erdogan and President Trump.
The proposed summit would be held between Zelensky and Putin, and it would include the "participation" of the US and Turkish Presidents, according to a statement from Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office.
Zelensky on Tuesday had again renewed his offer to meet with Putin to negotiate an end to the war, but Putin has rejected previous offers.
Ukraine made the proposal in Turkey during the latest round of talks, which yielded few results and left delegations from both countries feeling far away from a deal on a ceasefire or end to the war.
"It is clear that Russia is still not ready to end the war — but there is still time to reconsider and put an end to this madness," Yermak said in the statement.
He said that progress was made on humanitarian issues, including on prisoner exchanges and retrieving Ukrainian children who were kidnapped during the war.
Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, told reporters after the talks that "we have not made progress yet" on a ceasefire, according to multiple media outlets.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, made similar remarks after the meeting.
“The positions are quite apart from each other,” he said, news outlets reported.
The nations have held two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul so far -- on May 16 and June 2 -- and the discussions have led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners, but the two have made little to no progress on a potential ceasefire agreement.
Since the previous round of talks, which took place nearly two months ago, Russia issued a memo outlining conditions for reaching a ceasefire, including having Ukraine's military disarm and agree to Russia's annexation of four regions in Ukraine that were overtaken since Moscow launched its invasion in 2022, which the Russian military has struggled to maintain.
Yermak said in his statement Wednesday that Ukraine, in the latest talks, "clearly outlined its priorities: a ceasefire, real silence along the entire frontline, and a complete halt to strikes on civilian infrastructure. This is where the path to a genuine peace must begin."
Trump has pressed for forging peace in the region and has in recent weeks been increasingly critical of Putin, saying in a recent interview with the BBC that he is "disappointed" with the Kremlin's leader but not "done with him".
Trump announced last week that the US brokered a deal to send more weapons to Ukraine, arms that would be paid for by NATO allies in Europe who agreed earlier this year to increase their investment in defence spending.
Trump also warned Putin he would slap new sanctions on Russia and other countries that purchase Moscow's exports if a ceasefire is not reached within 50 days.
Russia has not wavered from its demands and has continued to shell Ukraine, firing off drones and missile attacks that have targeted dozens of cities.