Zelensky to visit Türkiye on October 31 at Erdoğan's invitation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make a working visit to Türkiye on October 31 at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Burhanettin Duran, Türkiye's Presidential Communications Director, announced the visit in a statement on October 30.

According to Duran, Zelensky "will make a working visit to our country" on October 31, 2026. Erdoğan and Zelensky will meet in Istanbul; in addition to a one-on-one meeting, talks at delegation level will also be held.

According to the statement, the meeting will discuss the Russia–Ukraine war, Black Sea security, regional and international developments, and steps to deepen cooperation between Türkiye and Ukraine.

The visit comes amid diplomatic contacts on trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine. On October 30, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the parties had agreed to resume trilateral talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that preparations for the talks do not entail commitments to halt combat operations.

On October 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Zelensky was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and mentioned mediation by Erdoğan among the possible formats of such a meeting.

Türkiye has played a mediating role since the start of the war: in March 2022 Russian and Ukrainian delegations held talks in Istanbul, and in July of that year the agreement on exporting Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea was signed in Istanbul. Direct Russia–Ukraine talks held in Istanbul in 2025 resulted in prisoner exchanges.