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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he is prepared to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump "any day," proposing that a ceasefire be implemented before such a summit.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the meeting would also include President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, making it a four-way diplomatic gathering aimed at addressing the ongoing conflict.
"We are ready for such a meeting any day," Zelenskyy told reporters, emphasizing his willingness to engage in high-level diplomacy while calling for a temporary halt to hostilities as a precondition.
The Ukrainian leader expressed frustration with the current diplomatic process, particularly regarding talks in Istanbul between Ukrainian and Russian delegations. He characterized continuing these negotiations at their present level as ineffective.
"We are ready for exchanges, but to continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul at a level that does not solve anything further, I think, is pointless," Zelenskyy said during the press conference. He was referring to prisoner of war swaps when discussing the exchanges.
Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine expects the return of 500 prisoners as part of an exchange with Russia scheduled for June 7-8. The prisoner swaps have been one of the few areas where the two countries have maintained some level of cooperation despite the broader conflict.
The Ukrainian president also criticized Russia's ceasefire conditions, describing a document outlining Moscow's terms as constituting an "ultimatum."
Türkiye has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the conflict, with President Erdogan maintaining diplomatic relations with both Ukraine and Russia. Istanbul has previously served as a venue for negotiations between the warring parties.
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