Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on June 2 that Turkey plans to facilitate a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine in either Ankara or Istanbul. Speaking to reporters on the same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness to take part in such talks.
"I had a conversation with President Erdoğan of Turkey. And indeed, he sent a signal, asking how I would feel about a meeting of four leaders: himself, the President of the United States, Putin, and me. I told him that I support a meeting at the level of leaders, because I have the impression that there will be no ceasefire without our meeting," Zelensky said during an online press conference attended by the Kyiv Independent.
The president's comments followed another round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on June 2, where the sides agreed to a new prisoners of war (POWs) exchange but failed to reach a ceasefire.
The talks, hosted by Turkish officials, follow the first round of negotiations on May 16. The initial meeting ended with an agreement on the largest prisoner exchange of the war, but without any tangible progress toward a peace deal.
In the meantine, U.S. President Donald Trump is also open to an invitation by his Turkish counterpart to hold three-way peace talks in Turkey with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, the White House said on June 2.
"The president has said he's open to it if it comes to that, but he wants both of these leaders and both sides to come to the table together," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal.
Following the June 2 talks, Russia also proposed a temporary two- to three-day ceasefire in specific areas of the front line to allow for the retrieval of fallen soldiers' bodies, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said on June 2.
Zelensky criticized Russia’s proposal for a 2–3-day local ceasefire to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers, adding that "they (the Russian side) just don’t see a ceasefire as such at the moment."
"As they said regarding a ceasefire, they are ready for a 2–3-day ceasefire to retrieve the dead from the battlefield. I think they’re idiots, because, fundamentally, a ceasefire is meant so that there are no dead."
"You can see their attitude. For them, this is just a brief pause in the war," the president added.
Oleg Sukhov
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