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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that talks held in Alaska a day earlier between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had given “new momentum” to efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
In a statement posted on his X, Erdogan expressed hope that the discussions, with the eventual participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, would lay the foundation for a lasting peace.
"Türkiye is ready to contribute with all efforts to the establishment of peace,” Erdogan said.
Trump and Putin met on Friday in Alaska to negotiate potential conditions for peace in Ukraine, where fighting has continued since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. After the summit, Trump said any agreement would depend on President Zelenskiy, while noting that he and Putin had found many points of understanding during their talks.
Putin welcomed Trump’s approach and voiced hope that “the understanding reached at the summit would pave the way for peace,” according to remarks carried after the meeting.
Zelenskiy announced on Saturday that he would travel to Washington on Monday to meet with Trump, marking their first face-to-face encounter since a tense exchange earlier this year.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Trump told European leaders following the Alaska summit that he supported a plan to end the conflict by transferring Ukrainian-held territory to Russian control, rather than pursuing a cease-fire, citing senior European officials briefed on the call.
Since the early phases of the conflict, Türkiye, as a strategic partner for both nations, has led efforts to establish a ceasefire and a permanent peace agreement by hosting key diplomatic summits in Istanbul.
Since mid-May this year, Türkiye has organized and hosted three meetings between negotiating groups from Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. The most recent summit took place on July 22, when Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that both sides had agreed on a framework aimed at expanding prisoner exchanges.
During a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that Türkiye is ready to host a leaders’ summit, with Russian President Vladimir Putin also expected to attend, to accelerate the peace process.
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