{"id":32764,"date":"2025-11-20T06:41:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T04:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=32764"},"modified":"2025-11-20T06:41:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T04:41:40","slug":"zelenskyy-visits-turkiye-to-meet-erdogan-as-ukraine-seeks-to-intensify-peace-negotiations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/zelenskyy-visits-turkiye-to-meet-erdogan-as-ukraine-seeks-to-intensify-peace-negotiations\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyy visits Turkiye to meet Erdogan as Ukraine seeks to intensify peace negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on November 19, 2025, with Kyiv signaling a renewed push to accelerate talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zelenskyy said Ukraine\u2019s \u201ctop priority\u201d remained bringing the war to an end and added that discussions would include efforts to resume prisoner exchanges. \u201cBringing the end of the war closer with all our might is Ukraine&#8217;s top priority,\u201d he said, noting that he aimed to \u201cintensify\u201d negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukraine has recently received what officials described as \u201csignals\u201d about a set of U.S. proposals discussed with Russia. A senior Ukrainian official told reporters that Kyiv had played no role in preparing those proposals. The reports triggered the biggest rise in Ukraine\u2019s government bond prices in months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It remained unclear whether any U.S. representatives would join the Ankara meeting. Special envoy Steve Witkoff was rumored to attend, but his participation was called off hours before the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Turkiye\u2019s Balancing Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turkiye maintains ties with both Ukraine and Russia and previously hosted peace talks in 2022. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no Russian representative would take part in Wednesday\u2019s meeting in Ankara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"800\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A very productive and substantive meeting with the President of T\u00fcrkiye, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RTErdogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RTErdogan<\/a>.<br><br>We discussed further defense cooperation \u2013 joint production projects and coordination for more effective protection of life. We also addressed the situation in diplomacy, aiming to channel all\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xU24pN7nIy\">pic.twitter.com\/xU24pN7nIy<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1991192605049385268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 19, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>He added there were \u201cno concrete plans\u201d for President Vladimir Putin to speak to either Turkiye or Witkoff but said Putin was \u201cof course open to a conversation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turkiye\u2019s state agency, Anadolu, confirmed the meeting in Ankara. Attending alongside Erdogan were Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Director Ibrahim Kalin, and Erdogan\u2019s Chief Adviser on Foreign Policy and Security, Akif Cagatay Kilic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Zelenskyy\u2019s Regional Diplomatic Push<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ankara is Zelenskyy\u2019s fourth stop in a series of rapid visits across Europe in recent days. In Athens on November 16, Ukraine secured a gas-supply agreement set to begin in January 2026. In Paris on November 17, Kyiv signed a declaration of intent covering defense cooperation and the planned purchase of 100 Rafale fighter jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Madrid on November 18, Zelenskyy met congressional and senate leaders as well as defense companies, with Spain preparing a $6.9 million military aid package and a new reconstruction finance instrument for December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Domestically, Zelenskyy faces growing political pressure as several close associates come under investigation for allegedly co-organizing a large-scale criminal scheme. Ukraine\u2019s parliament dismissed both the energy and justice ministers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scandal has raised concerns among some EU leaders ahead of a December decision on whether to unlock $161 billion in loans for Kyiv using frozen Russian assets, with calls for stronger anti-corruption measures.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zelenskyy-patriot-system.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zelenskyy-patriot-system.jpg?resize=900%2C570&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Zelenskyy seen near a battery of Patriot missiles\" class=\"wp-image-30717\" style=\"width:840px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zelenskyy-patriot-system.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zelenskyy-patriot-system.jpg?resize=300%2C190&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zelenskyy-patriot-system.jpg?resize=768%2C486&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seen near a battery of Patriot missiles in Germany in June 2024. (Image Credit: AP\/via X)<\/sup><\/em><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Possibility of Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Efforts to revive peace talks appear to be gaining momentum, although Moscow has shown no willingness to revise its terms. Earlier in November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia\u2019s conditions, laid out by Putin in 2024, remained unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They include Ukraine renouncing any intention to join NATO and withdrawing from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected those conditions, arguing that withdrawing from the Donbas would leave Ukraine open to future attacks. Kyiv also maintains that Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, must be addressed in any settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States has sought to mediate, with Witkoff previously suggesting after a long meeting with Putin in April that a potential peace deal would hinge on the status of contested regions and Crimea. The remarks caused tensions with Kyiv, with Zelenskyy accusing him of \u201cdisseminating Russian narratives\u201d. The two have not met since early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American diplomatic engagement has continued discreetly. Putin\u2019s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev reportedly travelled to Washington in late October for talks with Witkoff, days after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia\u2019s two largest oil companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump had also explored the possibility of another meeting with Putin in Budapest, but the plan was abandoned after U.S. officials concluded Moscow would not shift on demands Kyiv viewed as unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"591\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan-1024x596.jpg?resize=1016%2C591&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\" class=\"wp-image-32767\" style=\"width:840px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan.jpg?resize=1024%2C596&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan.jpg?resize=300%2C175&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan.jpg?resize=768%2C447&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Turkiye-Erdogan.jpg?w=1100&amp;ssl=1 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on November 19, 2025. (Image Credit: X\/@ZelenskyyUa)<\/sup><\/em><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><strong>War Situation and Military Engagements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russian forces control about 19% of Ukrainian territory and continue offensive operations while striking civilian and energy infrastructure. Overnight attacks killed 25 people as winter conditions set in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No face-to-face talks between Kyiv and Moscow have taken place since July in Istanbul. Turkiye\u2019s earlier attempt to mediate in 2022 marked the only previous direct negotiation round until the recent U.S. initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russian representatives would not join the Ankara discussions, but Putin remained open to conversations with the U.S. and Turkiye regarding any outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>US Delegation Expected in Kyiv<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of Washington\u2019s parallel diplomatic track, a U.S. delegation led by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Kyiv on a \u201cfact-finding mission\u201d, according to the U.S. embassy. Army Chief of Staff General Randy George is also part of the delegation, and both are scheduled to meet Zelenskyy on Thursday, a source familiar with the visit said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The renewed diplomatic activity comes as both sides prepare for the fourth anniversary of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with each maintaining fundamentally opposing positions on how to end the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?resize=1016%2C678&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontline command post of the defenders of Kupyansk\" class=\"wp-image-29981\" style=\"width:840px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?resize=589%2C392&amp;ssl=1 589w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ukraine-Zelenskyy-Defense-Force-headquarters.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontline command post of the defenders of Kupyansk during a working trip to Kharkiv region, on November 30, 2023. (Image Credit: President of Ukraine)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara on November 19, 2025, with Kyiv signaling a renewed push to accelerate talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[62,1],"tags":[75,357,5,71,20,82,540,7,22,63],"class_list":["post-32764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","tag-conflict","tag-europe","tag-military","tag-politics","tag-russia","tag-turkey","tag-turkiye","tag-u-s","tag-ukraine","tag-weapons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Turkiye-Erdogan-Ukraine-Zelenskyy.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-8ws","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32764"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32774,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32764\/revisions\/32774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}