Prospects for peace summit: Weighing Erdoğan’s offer to host Ukraine-Russia talks

Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy and Turkish Pres. Erdoğan in a presser Friday. Source

İSTANBUL – Everyone and the Pope seems to be calling for Ukraine-Russia peace talks, and Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has joined the chorus.

During a joint press conference with Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy in İstanbul Friday, the Turkish leader offered to host a peace summit between Ukrainian and Russian officials, reiterating Ankara’s long-held commitment to brokering an end to the war.

Then Tuesday night, Erdoğan said any steps that could spread the war to NATO countries should be avoided, adding he would host Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin after March 31 elections. The statements came after Turkish FM Hakan Fidan suggested decoupling ceasefire talks from “sovereignty issues” about occupied territories earlier this month.

Taken together, the comments highlight apparent divergences between Ankara and Kyiv as one of Zelenskyy’s primary aims is restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity. In January, he also suggested barring Russian officials from attending a planned peace summit in Switzerland, hinting at a lack of political will for direct talks.

Assessing recent developments, experts told Turkey recap that Erdoğan was unlikely to host peace talks in near-term while noting both Kyiv and Moscow have become more dependent on Ankara for trade and its utility as an intermediary.

They said this clout, in turn, has given Turkey more room to maneuver with not only Ukraine and Russia, but also Western allies.