Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in İstanbul on Saturday to discuss Black Sea navigation, energy security and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to statements from the Turkish presidency and Zelensky.
The meeting took place a day after Erdoğan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused Kyiv of trying to target a gas pipeline linking Russia and Turkey and supplying some European countries.
In a statement after the talks, Erdoğan’s office said he underlined the importance Turkey places on safe navigation in the Black Sea and on protecting energy supply routes. The presidency said the two leaders also discussed bilateral ties, peace efforts related to the war and regional and international developments.
Zelensky said the talks also covered possible joint projects in gas infrastructure and opportunities for the joint development of gas fields.
The meeting was held at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul, a waterfront Ottoman-era complex that previously hosted rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Zelensky was also expected to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, ahead of Orthodox Easter, which will be marked in both Ukraine and Russia on April 12.
Ukraine has been calling for a truce over the Orthodox Easter period that would include a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. Russia has said it is seeking a permanent settlement rather than a short ceasefire and that it has not received what it called clearly formulated proposals from Kyiv.
Throughout the war, Ukraine has targeted Russian energy facilities in an effort to weaken Moscow’s ability to fund its military campaign, while Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have caused power and heating cuts for millions since the start of the invasion.
© Agence France-Presse