Erdogan insists on meeting Putin and Zelenski in Turkey “in the not too distant future.”

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again offered Monday to host a possible meeting between the heads of state of Ukraine and Russia, Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin, respectively.

“Our goal is to bring Putin and Zelenski to our country, hopefully in the not too distant future,” Erdogan has said after a meeting of the Turkish government. Thus, he defended Ankara’s willingness to bring Russians and Ukrainians closer together, according to Anatolia news agency.

Turkey already acted as mediator in the agreement that allowed the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine, “a key milestone for humanity”, in Erdogan’s words. The UN, which has also participated in this pact, considers that it is key to ensuring global food security.

Last week Erdogan and UN chief António Guterres held a three-way meeting in Ukraine with Zelenski in which they discussed the agreement to export grain and also diplomatic prospects for ending the conflict.

Zelenski made it clear that he will not negotiate until Russia has withdrawn its troops and, on the Russian side, there has also been no intention to engage in high-level dialogues, so it seems ruled out in the short term that there could be a meeting between the two presidents.