Zelenskyy says Ukraine, US and Russia plan talks in November
After meeting Erdogan in Istanbul, the Ukrainian president spoke of bringing in Turkey and Europe. Ankara offers help but no venue or date.
Ukraine is preparing three-way negotiations with the United States and Russia for the first half of November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his X account. His Saturday post spoke of "a trilateral format" and capped a day of meetings in Istanbul.
Zelenskyy said he discussed the format and other options with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including how to involve Turkey and all of Europe. He gave no venue, exact date or level of participants.
The two leaders later held a joint news conference at the presidential office in Dolmabahçe. Erdogan said the talks Turkey has hosted showed that diplomacy can deliver, and that his country stands ready to make "every effort within our power" for peace. The official text of his remarks mentions no offer of a venue and no date.
Istanbul is familiar ground for Kyiv and Moscow: the two sides talked there in March 2022 and in several rounds during 2025.
A three-way negotiation is the format in which Washington and Moscow deal directly with Kyiv, so its venue and timing bear on the course of the war and on sanctions. For Mexico, a cease-fire would show up mainly in energy and grain prices, though nothing has been signed.
Zelenskyy's window runs through mid-November.
