Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he will visit Türkiye on Nov. 19, in a bid to "reinvigorate" peace talks and to restore prisoner-of-war exchanges with Russia.
Negotiations to end the war have faltered after three rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul earlier this year yielded no breakthrough, with Moscow rejecting a ceasefire, stepping up advances on the front and its bombardments of Ukrainian cities.
"We are preparing to reinvigorate negotiations, and we have developed solutions that we will propose to our partners," Zelensky said on Nov. 18 on social media.
"We are also working to restore POW exchanges and bring our prisoners of war home," he added.
“Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s top priority.”
Following his announcement, an Ukrainian official told AFP that Zelensky will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Turkish capital Ankara during the visit.
Zelensky will aim to revive Washington's interest in ending the Russian invasion during talks in Türkiye, the official added.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will also visit Türkiye on Nov. 19 and join the planned talks there with Zelensky, according to the Ukrainian official.
On the other hand, Russia said it will not send an official to Türkiye for Zelensky's visit.
"No, there will not be a representative of Russia in Türkiye tomorrow," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Nov. 18.
“For now, these contacts are taking place without Russian participation. We will await information on what would actually be discussed in Istanbul,” Peskov said.
Prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of fallen soldiers' bodies were the only tangible results of the talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July.
The last prisoner exchange was in early October, with Moscow and Kiev swapping 185 prisoners each.
Last week, Peskov said Russia was "open to negotiation processes" to resolve the war in Ukraine, but blamed Kyiv and Europe for the current freeze.
Ukraine says Russia has repeatedly demonstrated it does not want to halt its invasion, by outlining unacceptable demands that Kiev to cede more territory and effectively capitulate to Moscow.
Zelensky was on a European tour to garner support for his depleted army and the country's battered energy infrastructure, amid a mounting Russian advance and an engulfing corruption scandal at home.
He is due to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later on Nov. 18. A day earlier, the Ukrainian leader signed an accord with France, which provides for Kyiv to acquire up to 100 fighter jets and other hardware, including drones.
