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Turkey’s Erdogan offers to host a peace summit with Russia during a visit from Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a join news conference following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers a question during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan listens to a question during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, talks during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy smiles during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a joint news conference following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey’s offer.

“Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations,” Erdogan said. “We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included.”

Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded.

Zelenskyy said any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan he has previously suggested, which includes food security, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“Any proposals for settling this war must start with the formula proposed by the state defending its land and its people,” he said. “We want a fair peace.”

The Ukrainian leader expressed hope that at the inaugural peace summit expected to be held this year in Switzerland, the possibility of reopening all Ukrainian ports, not only in Odesa but also in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, will be considered.

Zelenskyy, who visited shipyards where corvettes for the Ukrainian navy are being built, said on X that agreements were reached on joint defense projects with the Turkish government and corporations. He said on Telegram that they also agreed to simplify trade and remove barriers to business.

Erdogan said the two discussed stability in the Black Sea shipping corridor and he reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”

The visit comes as Zelenskyy and other officials continue to press other nations for more munitions and weaponry to halt the advance of Russian troops trying to make deeper gains into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region north of it in the third year of war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending a meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, that “drop by drop” aid to Ukraine no longer works.

“If things continue as they currently happen, it’s not going to end well for all of us,” Kuleba said. “What is required is an unrestricted and timely supply of all types of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia and the war in Europe does not spill over.”

An envoy from China, which has frustrated Ukraine and its Western allies by boosting trade with Russia and portraying the conflict and its causes largely from Moscow’s point of view, was in Kyiv on Thursday during a European visit for talks on settling what it calls the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs, met with officials from Russia, the EU, Switzerland and Poland before his stop in Ukraine and was scheduled to go on to Germany and France.

Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers as well as unsuccessful talks between negotiators from the two countries aimed at ending the hostilities.

Later in 2022, Turkey, along with the United Nations, also brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine that allowed the shipment of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia, however, pulled out of the deal last year, citing obstacles to its export of food and fertilizers.

During Li’s visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials described the horrors of the war.

“It is very important that you hear firsthand about the situation on the front line, what is happening and where we are,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, said, according to a Ukrainian statement.

It wasn’t clear how Li reacted to the presentation. China released a terse statement Friday saying only that Li arrived in Kyiv by train at noon, held candid and friendly talks, and departed by train the same evening.

The war has created a sharp division between China and the West. The Chinese government avoids using the words “war” or “invasion” to describe Russia’s attack and cites NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict.

The Ukraine statement said the two sides discussed the possibility of China’s assistance in prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian children in Russia and the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia took control of during fighting in 2022.

Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko on Friday urged Russia to immediately comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling for the complete withdrawal its troops from the Zaporizhzhia plant and return of the station to Ukrainian control.

“Every day that Russians stay at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases the number of the existing problems and increases the threat of a nuclear incident,” Halushchenko said on national television.

In other developments:

— Zelenskyy signed an order Thursday allowing the first demobilization of soldiers who were conscripted into the army before Russia’s full-scale invasion. The order takes effect in April or May.

The soldiers, who had been required to continue their service after martial law was declared, can return home and remain in the army reserves, according to the order. It was not known how many troops are eligible because that information is classified.

— Indian authorities said Friday that they are in talks with Russia about returning Indian citizens duped into working for the Russian army, a day after a federal investigation agency said it broke up a human trafficking network that lured people to Russia under the pretext of giving them jobs.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

As Ukrainian president visits, Turkey’s Erdogan offers to host a peace summit with Russia

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelensky that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey’s offer.

“Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations,” Erdogan said. “We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included.”

Zelensky said in a statement at the start of the meeting that he was grateful for Turkey’s support. He said he was interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation, protecting commercial vessels in the Black Sea, and having Ukraine work with Turkish defense companies.

Erdogan said the two discussed the stability of the shipping corridor and he reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”

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The visit comes as Zelensky and other officials continue to press other nations for more munitions and weaponry to halt the advance of Russian troops trying to make deeper gains into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region in the third year of war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending a meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, that “drop-by-drop” aid to Ukraine no longer works.

“If things continue as they currently happen, it’s not going to end well for all of us,” Kuleba said. “What is required is an unrestricted and timely supply of all types of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia and the war in Europe does not spill over.”

An envoy from China, which has frustrated Ukraine and its Western allies by boosting trade with Russia and portraying the conflict and its causes largely from Moscow’s point of view, was in Kyiv on Thursday during a European visit for talks on settling what it calls the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs, met with officials from Russia, the EU, Switzerland and Poland before his stop in Ukraine and was scheduled to go on to Germany and France.

Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers as well as unsuccessful talks between negotiators from the two countries aimed at ending the hostilities.

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Later in 2022, Turkey, along with the United Nations, also brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine that allowed the shipment of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia, however, pulled out of the deal last year, citing obstacles to its export of food and fertilizers.

In Istanbul, Zelenskky also was to visit shipyards where Turkish companies are building two ships for the Ukrainian navy, according to his office.

Zelensky last visited Turkey in July, when he returned to Ukraine with a group of Ukrainian commanders who were in Turkey following a prison exchange deal, and were to remain on Turkish territory until the end of the war. There was no explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

During Li’s visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials described the horrors of the war.

“It is very important that you hear firsthand about the situation on the front line, what is happening and where we are,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, said, according to a Ukrainian statement.

It wasn’t clear how Li reacted to the presentation. China released a terse statement Friday saying only that Li arrived in Kyiv by train at noon, held candid and friendly talks, and departed by train the same evening.

The war has created a sharp division between China and the West. The Chinese government avoids using the words “war” or “invasion” to describe Russia’s attack and cites NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict.

The Ukrainian statement said the two sides discussed the possibility of China’s assistance in prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian children in Russia and the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia took control of during fighting in 2022.

Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko on Friday urged Russia to immediately comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling for the complete withdrawal of its troops from the Zaporizhzhia plant and its return to Ukrainian control.

“Every day that Russians stay at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases the number of the existing problems and increases the threat of a nuclear incident,” Halushchenko said on national television.

Ayse Wieting and Suzan Fraser write for the Associated Press. Wieting reported from Istanbul and Fraser from Ankara, Turkey. AP writers Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius contributed to this report.

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April 11, 2024

Ukraine’s Zelensky lands in Saudi Arabia to push for peace and POW exchange with Russia

Feb. 27, 2024

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Turkey's erdogan offers to host a peace summit with russia during a visit from ukraine's zelenskyy, turkey ukraine, turkey russia ukraine war.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey’s offer.

“Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations," Erdogan said. "We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included.”

Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded.

Zelenskyy said any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan he has previously suggested, which includes food security, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“Any proposals for settling this war must start with the formula proposed by the state defending its land and its people,” he said. “We want a fair peace.”

The Ukrainian leader expressed hope that at the inaugural peace summit expected to be held this year in Switzerland, the possibility of reopening all Ukrainian ports, not only in Odesa but also in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, will be considered.

Zelenskyy, who visited shipyards where corvettes for the Ukrainian navy are being built, said on X that agreements were reached on joint defense projects with the Turkish government and corporations. He said on Telegram that they also agreed to simplify trade and remove barriers to business.

Erdogan said the two discussed stability in the Black Sea shipping corridor and he reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”

The visit comes as Zelenskyy and other officials continue to press other nations for more munitions and weaponry to halt the advance of Russian troops trying to make deeper gains into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region north of it in the third year of war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending a meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, that "drop by drop” aid to Ukraine no longer works.

“If things continue as they currently happen, it’s not going to end well for all of us,” Kuleba said. "What is required is an unrestricted and timely supply of all types of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia and the war in Europe does not spill over.”

An envoy from China, which has frustrated Ukraine and its Western allies by boosting trade with Russia and portraying the conflict and its causes largely from Moscow’s point of view, was in Kyiv on Thursday during a European visit for talks on settling what it calls the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs, met with officials from Russia, the EU, Switzerland and Poland before his stop in Ukraine and was scheduled to go on to Germany and France.

Shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers as well as unsuccessful talks between negotiators from the two countries aimed at ending the hostilities.

Later in 2022, Turkey, along with the United Nations, also brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine that allowed the shipment of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia, however, pulled out of the deal last year, citing obstacles to its export of food and fertilizers.

During Li's visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials described the horrors of the war.

“It is very important that you hear firsthand about the situation on the front line, what is happening and where we are,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, said, according to a Ukrainian statement.

It wasn’t clear how Li reacted to the presentation. China released a terse statement Friday saying only that Li arrived in Kyiv by train at noon, held candid and friendly talks, and departed by train the same evening.

The war has created a sharp division between China and the West. The Chinese government avoids using the words “war” or “invasion” to describe Russia’s attack and cites NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict.

The Ukraine statement said the two sides discussed the possibility of China’s assistance in prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian children in Russia and the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia took control of during fighting in 2022.

Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko on Friday urged Russia to immediately comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling for the complete withdrawal its troops from the Zaporizhzhia plant and return of the station to Ukrainian control.

“Every day that Russians stay at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases the number of the existing problems and increases the threat of a nuclear incident,” Halushchenko said on national television.

In other developments:

— Zelenskyy signed an order Thursday allowing the first demobilization of soldiers who were conscripted into the army before Russia’s full-scale invasion. The order takes effect in April or May.

The soldiers, who had been required to continue their service after martial law was declared, can return home and remain in the army reserves, according to the order. It was not known how many troops are eligible because that information is classified.

— Indian authorities said Friday that they are in talks with Russia about returning Indian citizens duped into working for the Russian army, a day after a federal investigation agency said it broke up a human trafficking network that lured people to Russia under the pretext of giving them jobs.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Turkey's Erdogan Offers to Host a Peace Summit With Russia During a Visit From Ukraine's Zelenskyy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to hold a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine

Turkey's Erdogan Offers to Host a Peace Summit With Russia During a Visit From Ukraine's Zelenskyy

Francisco Seco

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of a join news conference following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey’s offer.

“Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations," Erdogan said. "We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included.”

Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded.

Zelenskyy said any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan he has previously suggested, which includes food security, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“Any proposals for settling this war must start with the formula proposed by the state defending its land and its people,” he said. “We want a fair peace.”

Photos You Should See - April 2024

The Ukrainian leader expressed hope that at the inaugural peace summit expected to be held this year in Switzerland, the possibility of reopening all Ukrainian ports, not only in Odesa but also in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, will be considered.

Zelenskyy, who visited shipyards where corvettes for the Ukrainian navy are being built, said on X that agreements were reached on joint defense projects with the Turkish government and corporations. He said on Telegram that they also agreed to simplify trade and remove barriers to business.

Erdogan said the two discussed stability in the Black Sea shipping corridor and he reiterated Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”

The visit comes as Zelenskyy and other officials continue to press other nations for more munitions and weaponry to halt the advance of Russian troops trying to make deeper gains into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also penetrating into the Kharkiv region north of it in the third year of war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending a meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, that "drop by drop” aid to Ukraine no longer works.

“If things continue as they currently happen, it’s not going to end well for all of us,” Kuleba said. "What is required is an unrestricted and timely supply of all types of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia and the war in Europe does not spill over.”

An envoy from China, which has frustrated Ukraine and its Western allies by boosting trade with Russia and portraying the conflict and its causes largely from Moscow’s point of view, was in Kyiv on Thursday during a European visit for talks on settling what it calls the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs, met with officials from Russia, the EU, Switzerland and Poland before his stop in Ukraine and was scheduled to go on to Germany and France.

Shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers as well as unsuccessful talks between negotiators from the two countries aimed at ending the hostilities.

Later in 2022, Turkey, along with the United Nations, also brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine that allowed the shipment of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Russia, however, pulled out of the deal last year, citing obstacles to its export of food and fertilizers.

During Li's visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials described the horrors of the war.

“It is very important that you hear firsthand about the situation on the front line, what is happening and where we are,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, said, according to a Ukrainian statement.

It wasn’t clear how Li reacted to the presentation. China released a terse statement Friday saying only that Li arrived in Kyiv by train at noon, held candid and friendly talks, and departed by train the same evening.

The war has created a sharp division between China and the West. The Chinese government avoids using the words “war” or “invasion” to describe Russia’s attack and cites NATO expansion as a root cause of the conflict.

The Ukraine statement said the two sides discussed the possibility of China’s assistance in prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian children in Russia and the return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia took control of during fighting in 2022.

Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko on Friday urged Russia to immediately comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution calling for the complete withdrawal its troops from the Zaporizhzhia plant and return of the station to Ukrainian control.

“Every day that Russians stay at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases the number of the existing problems and increases the threat of a nuclear incident,” Halushchenko said on national television.

In other developments:

— Zelenskyy signed an order Thursday allowing the first demobilization of soldiers who were conscripted into the army before Russia’s full-scale invasion. The order takes effect in April or May.

The soldiers, who had been required to continue their service after martial law was declared, can return home and remain in the army reserves, according to the order. It was not known how many troops are eligible because that information is classified.

— Indian authorities said Friday that they are in talks with Russia about returning Indian citizens duped into working for the Russian army, a day after a federal investigation agency said it broke up a human trafficking network that lured people to Russia under the pretext of giving them jobs.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Erdogan to travel to Russia for meeting with Putin on extending grain deal

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Russia to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin , Turkey’s Yeni Şafak newspaper reported on Aug. 22, citing sources in Turkey’s presidential administration.

Erdogan's upcoming trip to Russia could be "critically important" and a "most significant step" in resuming the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the newspaper said.

Following Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement on July 17, Turkish presidential sources said that serious progress had been made in talks to restore the initiative.

Read also: Erdogan confirms Putin's August visit to Turkey

Previously, Erdogan had said his meeting with Putin had been delayed until September at the earliest.

On July 28, the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin was ignoring Erdogan's requests to negotiate an extension of the grain deal.

Read also: Poland wants EU help to build agro-ports to help ship Ukraine’s grain

Putin said it was impossible to hold a bilateral telephone conversation because the Turkish president had chosen an "inconvenient time."

For his part, Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to contribute to ending Russia's war against Ukraine.

Erdogan said on Aug. 9 that he intended to revive the agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea and that he previously discussed the issue with the Russian dictator during a telephone conversation.

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Erdogan’s recent visit to Russia, which took place on September 4th, 2023, carries significant implications for regional politics and global geopolitics. This high-stakes meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin came after a pivotal moment in their diplomatic relations. The focus of the discussion revolved around Ukrainian grain exports and the revival of a crucial UN- and Türkiye-brokered agreement that had been suspended during the war with Russia. Beyond grain deals, the visit encompassed a broad spectrum of geopolitical interests, energy cooperation, arms deals, and humanitarian concerns. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the visit and its far-reaching consequences.

In July 2022, Russia and Ukraine entered into separate agreements with Türkiye and the United Nations, creating a pathway for the export of much-needed Ukrainian grain, along with some Russian grain and fertilizer, through the Black Sea. The Initiative, in particular, permits the commercial export of food products and fertilizers (including ammonia) from three crucial Ukrainian ports located along the Black Sea – Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. This eagerly awaited agreement brings an end to a standoff during the wartime period, which posed a significant threat to global food security. The United Nations’ initiative would facilitate the export of 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural commodities from Ukraine, a key global source of food production. These goods had been stranded in Black Sea ports due to Russia’s military intervention. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed this development as ” a beacon of hope” for the millions of individuals who have endured substantial increases in food prices.

The Abandoned Grain Deal’s Purpose

The now-abandoned grain deal was originally conceived to address the global food crisis by allowing Ukraine to export grain from its ports while the conflict with Russia persisted. Both Russia and Ukraine are prominent players in global agricultural markets, especially in commodities such as wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed, and sunflower oil.

The Urgent Quest for a Revived Grain Deal: Optimism for a Revived Deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan engaged in critical discussions regarding Ukrainian grain exports during their meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on September 4th. This meeting unfolded nearly two months after Russia withdrew from a UN- and Türkiye-mediated agreement, allowing Ukraine to export grain and other commodities from its Black Sea ports during the ongoing conflict.

President Erdogan expressed optimism regarding the prospect of resurrecting the grain deal, asserting Türkiye’s belief in a swift resolution. President Putin echoed this sentiment, stating that Russia stands ready to reinstate the agreement once restrictions on its agricultural exports are lifted.

Diplomatic Maneuvers Leading to the Meeting

Prior to the Sochi summit, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conducted talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to finalize the details of Erdogan’s visit and explore the potential for a new grain deal. These diplomatic engagements underscore the significance of the meeting and its potential impact.

Conditions for the Grain Deal’s Revival

Putin emphasized that Russia would consider reviving the grain deal only when all the agreements pertaining to the removal of restrictions on Russian agricultural exports were fully implemented. He also countered Western claims that Russia’s withdrawal from the deal had exacerbated a global food crisis, asserting that food shortages were not a direct consequence of Russia’s exit.

UN’s Efforts to Revive the Deal

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently revealed his efforts to revive the grain deal by presenting concrete proposals to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russian demands implied by the agreement had not been implemented in the previous deal, refraining from divulging further details.

Erdogan’s Diplomatic Endeavor

Erdogan is actively pursuing an international diplomatic success story by restoring the agreement with Moscow that facilitated Ukraine’s grain exports through the Black Sea to global markets. The termination of the deal by Moscow in July prompted Erdogan’s efforts, as the previous agreement he brokered with the UN had garnered international acclaim. A successful restoration of the deal would undoubtedly place Erdogan in the international spotlight, especially as he prepares to attend the UN General Assembly later this month.

The UN’s Recent Reprimand

Türkiye’s reprimand by the UN Security Council, following clashes between Turkish Cypriot police and UN peacekeepers in Cyprus, has amplified Erdogan’s need for a positive diplomatic atmosphere. This adds further weight to the importance of achieving a diplomatic breakthrough during his visit to Russia.

Implications for Regional Politics and Geopolitics

Erdogan’s recent visit to Russia carries far-reaching implications for regional politics and the broader global geopolitical landscape. The interactions between Türkiye and Russia have drawn international attention due to their strategic positions and divergent interests in various regional conflicts.

Escalation and Alternatives in the Black Sea

Since its withdrawal from the grain deal in July, Russia has escalated tensions by engaging in  Ukrainian ports with missile and drone strikes, even threatening to treat all vessels in the Black Sea as potential military targets. In response, Ukraine has announced the establishment of a humanitarian corridor as an alternative route, hugging the coast of neighboring Romania and Bulgaria.

Addressing Food Security in Africa: Russian Footstep in the Greater African Region

Following its withdrawal from the grain deal, Russia has been keen on addressing concerns in Africa regarding the impact of the deal’s collapse on food security. On September 4th, President Putin announced that Russia was on the verge of reaching an agreement with six African countries, including Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea, to supply them with up to 50,000 tonnes of grain. This humanitarian gesture includes free food supply and logistical support, with deliveries expected to commence shortly.

Energy Cooperation and the Turk-Stream Pipeline

Energy cooperation is a significant facet of Russo-Turkish relations, with the TurkStream pipeline serving as a symbol of their partnership. The visit may encompass talks on expanding energy projects and their implications for regional energy security.

Arms Deals and Military Cooperation

Both Türkiye and Russia have engaged in arms deals and military cooperation in recent years. The meeting could lead future discussions on these agreements, including Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, which has raised concerns among Türkiye’s NATO allies and carries broader implications for regional security.

Balancing Alliances in Regional Politics

Erdogan’s diplomatic balancing act between Russia and NATO, notably the United States, is another crucial aspect of his visit. Türkiye’s strategic positioning as a NATO member with growing ties to Russia presents both challenges and opportunities. The meeting provides an opportunity to explore how Türkiye navigates these complex alliances.

Addressing Humanitarian Concerns

Beyond geopolitical interests, Erdogan’s visit may address humanitarian concerns in the region, particularly Türkiye’s role as a refuge for millions of Syrian refugees. Discussions may revolve around the refugee crisis and potential solutions.

Broader Implications for Global Politics

The outcomes of Erdogan’s visit extend beyond regional politics, with potential ripple effects on global politics. The decisions and agreements reached during the meeting can have repercussions in areas where Türkiye and Russia intersect, such as Syria, Libya, and energy markets.

Conclusion: Shaping the Future of Russo-Turkish Relations

Erdogan’s visit to Russia marks a crucial juncture in regional politics, underscoring Türkiye’s delicate diplomatic balancing act between Russia and NATO. The revival of the grain deal and discussions on energy cooperation, arms deals, and humanitarian concerns reflect the multidimensional nature of Russo-Turkish relations. As these influential nations navigate their complex alliance, the implications extend far beyond the Black Sea region, impacting global geopolitics. The outcomes of this meeting will reverberate in areas like Syria, Libya, and energy markets, shaping the course of future regional and global political dynamics. The world watches with anticipation as Türkiye and Russia chart their course in an ever-evolving international arena.

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Erdogan offers Ukraine-Russia peace summit to defuse crisis

Turkish president has reaffirmed at a meeting with Zelenskyy his offer to host a peace summit with Putin.

On a visit to Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to hold a Ukraine-Russia summit as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade.

The diplomatic offensive came as Russia accused the United States of ratcheting up “tensions” by sending 1,000 soldiers to Romania and 2,000 to Poland to bolster NATO’s eastern flank.

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As Moscow refuses to pull back more than 100,000 troops from Ukraine’s borders, the leaders of European powerhouses Germany and France said they were eyeing possible visits to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

French President Emmanuel Macron was set to hold his third phone call in a week with Putin later on Thursday and also talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .

Western powers have been engaged in intense diplomatic efforts – coupled with the threat of sanctions against Putin’s inner circle – to deter any further attack on ex-Soviet Ukraine, despite strenuous denials from Moscow.

Erdogan, who is pursuing his own diplomatic track, reaffirmed at a meeting with Zelenskyy his offer to host a peace summit with Putin.

The Turkish leader is looking to leverage his special relationship with Putin and strong support for Kyiv to set up peace talks.

Zelenskyy thanked him for the efforts and insisted he was “ready to do everything possible in all platforms and in all formats” to bring peace to Ukraine.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Erdogan has stepped up as a “mediator between Ukraine and Russia as he believes he can talk freely and frankly” with both Zelenskyy and Putin.

“[Erdogan] says that he doesn’t like to see two neighbours in a conflict, but that as a NATO member, if Russia invades Ukraine, Turkey will do what is necessary to hold the eastern flank of the transatlantic military alliance,” she said.

“But of course, Turkey and Russia have strategic relations and strategic cooperation when it comes to Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh … so Erdogan needs to be very careful while dealing with this issue … as he has some national interests at stake.”

Erdogan’s push for a sit-down has so far been stymied by Kremlin anger about NATO member Turkey supplying combat drones to Kyiv – and the two sides on Thursday signed a new deal aimed at expanding drone production in Ukraine.

‘Destructive steps’

Amid the diplomatic flurry, Washington angered Moscow by announcing the new troop deployments to two of NATO’s eastern members.

“As long as [Putin] is acting aggressively, we are going to make sure we reassure our NATO allies in eastern Europe that we’re there,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

The Kremlin urged the US to “stop escalating tensions” after Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned the “destructive” move would make it harder for a compromise between the two sides.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed the US troop movements were to demonstrate commitment to the NATO alliance, and no US soldiers would be sent to fight in Ukraine.

But that is unlikely to assuage Putin, who has accused the US and NATO of seeking to “contain” Russia by placing troops and strategic arms on its border.

Putin has demanded guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and has implicitly threatened the former Soviet state with the massive military buildup.

Russia also wants NATO and the US to foreswear the deployment of missile systems near Russia’s borders and to pull back NATO forces in eastern Europe.

Putin has left the door open to talks, saying he was studying Western proposals set out last month in response to Russia’s demands, and he hoped for a “solution”.

But in a call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, he noted “the unwillingness of NATO to adequately respond to the well-founded Russian concerns”.

The Kremlin also claimed it had China’s support in the standoff – backing that would be demonstrated when Putin meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday at the opening of the Olympics.

‘Low’ threat level

While the US and the UK have sounded the most strident warnings about a potential Russian attack, there are divisions about how likely it may be.

Kyiv has warned against “panic” as it seeks to protect its economy and some European allies are far more guarded about the prospect of looming war.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov insisted on Thursday “the probability of a significant escalation as of today is considered low” as Kyiv had not seen Moscow move “strike groups” to the border.

In a change of language, the White House said Wednesday it would no longer refer to a Russian invasion of Ukraine as “imminent” – explaining the word implied Putin had already made a decision to attack.

But tensions have been aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighbouring Belarus, where Washington has claimed Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu held talks with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko and troop inspections in advance of the joint drills later this month.

Moscow seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and has fuelled a simmering separatist conflict in the east of the country since then that has killed more than 13,000.

The Norwegian Refugee Council humanitarian organisation warned any escalation in the conflict risked displacing up to two million people along the front line.

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Date of Putin’s visit to Turkey not yet been agreed — Erdogan

ANKARA, April 16. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that he reached an agreement with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on his visit to Ankara, but the date of such a visit has not yet been agreed.

"We often spoke over the phone with Mr. Putin. As for his visit to Turkey, the date has not yet been agreed. I hope more concrete information on this matter will appear soon," the NTV television channel quoted him as saying after a cabinet meeting.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the date of Putin’s visit to Turkey would be agreed via diplomatic channels. A diplomatic source in the Turkish capital city told TASS that that the date of the visit would be announced as soon as it is agreed upon by the sides.

The Turkish mass media reported in early February that the visit had been scheduled for February 12 whereas the Russian side did not confirm that date.

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Türkiye, US talk ahead of Erdoğan’s expected visit to Washington

• April 17 2024 07:40:36

Senior Turkish and American diplomats have exchanged views on unfolding developments in the Middle East and the Ukraine-Russia war as well as bilateral ties ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned trip to Washington in early May.

Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar and Under Secretary of State Department John Bass held talks at the Foreign Ministry on April 16 following his meeting with Çağatay Akif Kılıç, the presidential foreign policy advisor. The U.S. diplomat was also received by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan late on April 15.

The talks in Ankara were a continuation of the Turkish-American Strategic Mechanism which took place at the level of foreign ministers in March. One of the main issues on the table was a planned visit by Erdoğan to the U.S. to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. Although not confirmed, the visit is expected to take place on May 8 and 9. It will be Erdoğan’s first White House trip since Biden took office in 2020.

Efforts to deepen and expand the scope of ties in the fields of economy, trade, energy and other issues, further institutionalizing Turkish-American ties, were reviewed during talks between Bass and Akçapar. They also discussed the developments in Syria, especially in the context of fighting terrorism and the U.S.’s continued support to the YPG, a group Türkiye has designated as a terror organization.

The Turkish-American consultations covered regional conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan. Türkiye has been playing a crucial role in efforts to bring Russia and Ukraine to the same table for a ceasefire which would be followed by peace negotiations. It also brokered the Black Sea Initiative between 2022 and 2023, which resulted in the flow of more than 33 million tons of wheat and other food products to the world markets.

On the Middle East, Türkiye urges the U.S. to convince Israel of a ceasefire as the death toll has reached 33.000 people, mostly children and women. Türkiye and the U.S. have recently worked closely to prevent further escalation between Iran and Israel.

Türkiye also reiterated to Washington that the only way for a permanent solution to the Middle East question is the establishment of a sovereign Palestine state.

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Erdogan meets Hamas leader in Turkey, discusses efforts for regional peace

"issues related to israel's attacks on lands of palestine, particularly gaza, efforts for adequate and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to gaza, and a fair and lasting peace process in the region were discussed," the turkish presidency said in a statement. the visit took place amid escalating regional tensions following israel's reported attack on iran this week..

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and reach a fair and lasting peace in the region during a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.

It was the first meeting between Erdogan and a Hamas delegation headed by Haniyeh since Israel began its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's visit to Turkey took place three days after he met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Doha. "Issues related to Israel's attacks on lands of Palestine, particularly Gaza, efforts for adequate and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a fair and lasting peace process in the region were discussed," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

The visit took place amid escalating regional tensions following Israel's reported attack on Iran this week. "Erdogan stressed that Israel should not benefit from the developments (between Iran and Israel) and that it is important to make efforts that will draw attention to Gaza again," the statement added.

NATO member Turkey has denounced Israel's offensive in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire. Erdogan has called Hamas a "liberation movement" while slamming the West for what he calls its unconditional support of Israel. Ankara has also imposed trade restrictions on Israel.

In Saturday's meeting, Erdogan told Haniyeh Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts for a permanent ceasefire as well as the establishment of an independent state of Palestine, according to the statement. Erdogan also told Haniyeh "it is vital for Palestinians to act in unity," the statement said.

Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control in Gaza in 2007, a year after sweeping elections, following a brief civil war with Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, reducing the PA's rule to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Efforts

to reconcile the two sides have so far failed over thorny power-sharing issues.

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Israel 'wasn't left to fend for itself' - yet aid to Ukraine is limited, Zelenskyy says

Follow our Ukraine war live page for all the latest developments and analysis of the conflict. Listen to a Sky News Daily podcast episode on the notion of the UK putting troops on the ground in Ukraine as you scroll.

Friday 19 April 2024 18:32, UK

• Israel wasn't left to fend for itself, Zelenskyy says
• NATO will supply more air defence systems to Ukraine
• Two detained after hammer attack on Navalny aide
• Moscow ramping up pressure on Ukrainian forces
• Major Russian missile attack kills eight
• Kremlin responds to US shift on aid to Ukraine
• Analysis: Russia is exploiting Ukraine's lack of air defences
• Mark Stone: Ukraine funding vote is a curious twist in America's political chaos
• The big picture: What's happening with the war this week?
• Your questions answered: How long will it take for any aid to turn the tide militarily?
• Live reporting by Samuel Osborne

We are pausing our live coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine today.

We'll be back again with more updates.

Here's a round-up of today, which started with the deaths of at least eight people in a major Russian missile attack in central Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more air defences and said: "Russia must be held accountable for its terror, and every missile, every Shahed [drone] must be shot down."

In a speech after a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies on the Italian island of Capri, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is "imperative" Ukraine gets more resources immediately to help it fight Russia.

"It needs more air defences, it needs more munitions, it needs more artillery - allies and partners including the G7 countries are committed to delivering on that," he added.

Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber "for the first time". Russia's defence ministry said the crash appeared to have been caused by a technical malfunction.

Two detained in Poland after hammer attack on Navalny aide

Two people were detained in Poland on suspicion of a hammer attack on Leonid Volkov,  the exiled top aide of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Mr Volkov had blamed Vladimir Putin for the attack and he thanked Lithuanian police for working "energetically and persistently" over the past month on his case.

"I am very glad that this work has been effective", he tweeted. "Well, we'll find out the details soon. Can't wait to find out!"

And a Polish man was arrested over allegations of being ready to help Russia's military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made an emotional appeal to NATO members, saying the current level of foreign aid for Ukraine is "very limited". 

The Ukrainian president said Israel had not been left to fend for itself during Iran's aerial bombardment on Saturday.

During that attack, Western allies had stepped in to help shoot down Iranian drones and missiles. 

"Putin must be brought down to earth and our sky must become safe again... And it depends fully on your choice... [the] choice whether we are indeed allies," Mr Zelenskyy said in his speech.

He said Ukraine needs a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes. 

Russia has recently intensified its bombardment of Ukraine, and the UN reported civilian deaths had sharply increased in March. 

NATO ministers have decided to supply more air defence systems to Ukraine, the organisation's secretary general has said.

Jens Stoltenberg said several NATO allies had made concrete commitments which he expected to be announced soon.

"In addition to Patriots, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including [French system] SAMP/T and many others, who do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine," he told reporters in Brussels.

A Russian missile attack has damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Odessa region, the governor has said.

One person was injured, he added.

This map by the British Ministry of Defence shows the latest update on advances in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The head of the European Union's executive branch has visited Finland's border with Russia to assess the security situation there.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Finland's decision to close its border crossings with Russia over a surge in migrants was a security matter for the whole 27-member bloc to consider.

"We all know how Putin and his allies instrumentalise migrants to test our defences and to try to destabilise us," she said.

"Now Putin is focusing on Finland, and this is no doubt in response to your firm support of Ukraine and your accession to NATO."

Finland shares a 832-mile (1,430km) land border with Russia.

"This is not just about the security of Finland, but it is about the security of the European Union. We are in this together," Ms von der Leyen said after visiting the border in Lappeenranta with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

"We should be more Finnish when it comes to security."

Finland joined NATO in April 2023 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a major blow to President Putin.

Slovaks angered at their government's refusal to give military aid to Ukraine have raised nearly €2m (£1.7m) in a drive to help supply ammunition to Kyiv.

Although ammo supplies are a pressing need for Ukraine after two years of war, Slovakia has refused to join a plan led by the Czech government to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds for Ukraine.

"When I heard about the Czech government's initiative, I was very pleased to hear that all ways are being sought to help Ukraine defend itself against the [Russian] aggressor, because there is no other way," said Otto Simko, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor and journalist who helped spearhead the Slovak crowdfunding campaign.

In a video posted on the crowdfunders' YouTube page he said Russia needed to be expelled from Ukraine so "peace can be spoken of on terms that suit Ukrainian independence".

Slovakia halted state military aid to Kyiv last year, arguing the conflict did not have a military solution.

It is "imperative" Ukraine gets more resources immediately to help it fight off Russia's invasion, the US secretary of state has said after a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies.

"It needs more air defences, it needs more munitions, it needs more artillery - allies and partners including the G7 countries are committed to delivering on that," Antony Blinken added.

Mr Blinken went on to say that if China wants better relations with Europe it cannot continue helping Russia while it attacks Ukraine, adding that Beijing was the primary contributor to Russia's defence industrial base.

He made the remarks after Kyiv's foreign minister said the G7 had identified "specific steps" needed to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Kyiv's foreign minister has said.

Dmytro Kuleba also warned Europe would be engulfed by war if Russia triumphed in its invasion.

"We identified specific steps which Western partners will make to help Ukraine," Mr Kuleba told reporters on the Italian island of Capri, where G7 foreign ministers are meeting.

He said the West had the capacity "to provide Ukraine with all necessary resources as soon as possible to save Europe from a larger war."

Meanwhile, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said the G7 was looking to see if it could use frozen Russian assets held in the West and not just the interest from the funds.

Mr Tajani said there was an established legal basis for using the interest from the frozen funds, but experts were now looking to see if the capital itself could be used to help Ukraine.

The West has frozen some $300bn (£241bn) of sovereign Russian assets, which the UK and US want to be used to pay for the Ukraine war effort - though European Union member states have questioned the legality of such a move.

A Polish man has been arrested over allegations of being ready to help Russia's military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors said.

The man, identified only as Pawel K, was accused of being prepared to pass airport security information to Russian agents and was arrested in Poland on Wednesday, the office of Poland's National Prosecutor said in a statement.

The man was seeking contact with Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to pass on detailed information about the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in south-eastern Poland, near the border with Ukraine, it said.

The airport is under the control of US troops and serves as a gateway for international military and humanitarian supplies for Ukraine.

If convicted, the man could face up to eight years in prison, the statement said.

It said the arrest was the result of close cooperation with the prosecutors and security services of Ukraine, who tipped them off and provided crucial evidence.

The Kremlin has declined to comment.

It comes after German prosecutors said two German-Russian men had been arrested on suspicion of espionage (see 8.44 post yesterday).

One of them is accused of agreeing to carry out attacks on potential targets including US military facilities in the hopes of sabotaging aid for Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited troops near the frontline in the east of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president joined a paratroopers' medical platoon in the Donetsk region.

"Today - Donetsk region. Visited our defenders who are under treatment," he said on Telegram.

Mr Zelenskyy said he talked with the soldiers and gave them awards, adding: "Thank you for your service and protection of Ukraine! Our country is proud to have such soldiers."

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Biden to host Turkey's Erdogan at White House on May 9

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

By Ece Toksabay, Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden is set to host Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on May 9 in the Turkish leader's first bilateral visit to Washington since Donald Trump was president, U.S. and Turkish officials said on Friday.

Ties between the NATO allies, long strained by differences on a range of issues, have thawed since Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid in January, following a 20-month delay that had caused frustration in Washington.

Yet strains persist, including over northern Syria, where U.S. forces are allied with Kurdish militants that Ankara deems terrorists and against whom it has conducted cross-border military operations.

Washington meanwhile has pressed Ankara to do more to ensure its sanctions on Russia are not circumvented in Turkey, a littoral Black Sea state along with both Russia and Ukraine.

A U.S. official said Washington sees the meeting as an opportunity for Erdogan to agree a full ban on the transshipment via Turkey of dual-use goods that it says Russia uses in its war effort in Ukraine.

Since Biden was elected in 2020, he and Erdogan have met a few times on the sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone. Turkey has pressed for a meeting at the White House, where in 2019 Erdogan visited Trump, with whom he enjoyed good personal ties.

One of the two Turkish officials who confirmed the planned May visit said the visit was taking place during "a window of opportunity" for bilateral ties.

"We hope the visit will also be an opportunity to deepen cooperation in various areas and consolidate the spirit of alliance, including on counter-terrorism," the person said, requesting anonymity.

Ankara has complained for years of its deep discomfort with U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it deems a terrorist organisation linked with Kurdish militants waging a decades-old insurgency against the Turkish state. But Washington says the YPG are key allies against Islamic State in Syria.

Despite discord over the U.S. military presence in Syria and U.S. support for Israel in its war with Hamas, Washington and Ankara recently sealed a long-delayed deal for Turkey to purchase U.S. F-16 fighter jets.

The Biden administration is looking to see if it can secure a commitment from Ankara during the visit to impose a ban on designated "dual-use" goods, like chemicals and microchips, to Russia and other countries known as entry points, the U.S. official said.

Washington has already sanctioned several Turkish individuals and companies, including in shipping, for contravening santions. Turkey supports Ukraine but opposes the Western sanctions on Russia, with which it also maintains good ties, but says they will not be circumvented on Turkish soil.

"The U.S. inter-agency remains unconvinced about Turkey's enforcement," the official said. "There is stuff they're turning a blind eye to...they need to go to the companies proactively, and tell them to stop doing business with people that will get them sanctioned."

The United States and Turkey set up a sanctions working group just before meetings between delegations in Washington earlier this month, during which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan got together.

The second Turkish source, a security official, said Turkey's top intelligence official Ibrahim Kalin was to meet with members of the U.S. House of Representatives for talks on the planned visit and other bilateral issues.

On Thursday and Friday, Fidan and Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler also met the U.S. delegation.

(Additional reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)

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The Latest | World leaders call on Iran and Israel to avoid allowing conflict to worsen

World leaders called on Iran and Israel to try to avoid escalating tensions following the apparent Israeli airstrike on Friday near an Iranian air base and nuclear facility.

Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Italy warned of new sanctions against Iran for its drone and missile attack on Israel last weekend, and urged both sides to avoid worsening the conflict.

Meanwhile, an apparent Israeli strike on Iran saw troops fire air defenses near the central city of Isfahan. It came days after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.

Israel also carried out a missile strike on an air defense unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said, citing a military statement.

Israel had vowed to respond to Iran’s weekend attack.

Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad — two militant groups backed by Iran — carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials .

— Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site

— Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says

— Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward

— S&P becomes second major U.S. agency to downgrade Israel’s long-term credit rating

— U.S. vetoes a widely supported resolution backing full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state.

Here is the latest:

IRAN-ALLIED MILITIA COALITION CLAIMS ITS BASE IN IRAQ HIT BY AIRSTRIKE

BAGHDAD — An airstrike early Saturday hit a base used by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias in Iraq, the group said in a statement.

The attack on the Kalsu military base north of Babylon — a former U.S. post that was handed over to the Iraqi military in 2011 — wounded three PMF members, said two militia officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

It was not clear who was responsible for the purported attack, which came a day after a suspected Israeli strike in Iran, but the militia officials blamed U.S. forces.

A U.S. official said there were no U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that were not public.

The PMF is a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that joined in the fight against the Islamic State extemist group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014. In 2016, the Iraqi government designated the Popular Mobilization Forces as an “independent military formation” within the Iraqi armed forces.

In recent months, some PMF member groups staged attacks on U.S. forces based in Iraq and Syria, which they said was in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in its war with the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

ISRAELI MILITARY INVESTIGATES DEATHS OF TWO PALESTINIAN DETAINEES

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it is investigating the deaths of two Palestinian detainees who were arrested by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

According to Israeli media reports, the detainees died while on the back of a truck bringing a group of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip .

In response to the reports, the military said its military police unit is investigating. The results of the investigation will be given to the military advocate general, who will decide whether to prosecute the soldiers involved. Rights groups say such investigations rarely result in charges or punishment.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Israel has rounded up thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and brought them to Israeli prisons, where they are interrogated about militant affiliations. Returning detainees say they were beaten, neglected and otherwise abused while in Israeli custody.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, an advocacy group representing the prisoners, says 16 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the war.

WORLD LEADERS CALL ON IRAN AND ISRAEL TO AVOID ESCALATING CONFLICT

Leaders from around the Mideast and the world called on Iran and Israel to try to avoid escalating tensions following the apparent Israeli strike near an Iranian air base and nuclear facility.

Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Italy urged both countries to show restraint, with the host nation’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, saying the meeting’s agenda was changed Friday to address the latest Mideast developments and that the “political objective is de-escalation.”

Tajani also said the G7 ministers condemned Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.

Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Ayman Al-Safadi, stressed the need to ease regional tensions. He also reiterated that Jordan, which is situated between Iran and Israel, will not allow itself to be “turned into an arena of conflict between Iran and Israel,” according to a statement issued by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry.

In a call with Iran’s foreign minister, Hussein Amir Abdullahian, after Friday’s strike, Al-Safadi stressed that Jordan will not allow Iran or Israel to violate Jordan’s airspace, according to the statement, which noted that Abdullahian said his country respects Jordan and wants to ensure the security of the region.

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Iran-ally Russia, told several Russian radio stations Friday that Moscow informed Israel that Iran isn’t seeking to escalate the conflict. He said Russian leaders were in contact with their Iranian counterparts as well as with the Israelis.

“We very clearly outlined in these conversations and conveyed to the Israelis that Iran does not want escalation,” Lavrov said after news broke of the strike on Iran.

Iran couldn’t “not respond to a gross violation of international law and status of a diplomatic mission, but it doesn’t want escalation,” Lavrov added, referring to the apparent Israeli airstrike that killed two Iranian generals in Syria on April 1.

The leaders of Britain, Germany and the European Commission, and China’s foreign ministry also called for Iran and Israel to avoid worsening the conflict.

“We have condemned Iran’s reckless and dangerous barrage of missiles against Israel ... and Israel absolutely has the right to self defense,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “But as I said to (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week, and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”

ISRAELI RAID ON WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMP KILLS AT LEAST 4 PALESTINIANS, INCLUDING 3 MILITANTS

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- An Israeli military raid Friday on a refugee camp in the northern West Bank killed at least four Palestinians, including three militants, according to the Israeli military, Palestinian health officials and a militant group.

The raid took place in the Nur Shams urban camp, which is in an area of the occupied West Bank where the military frequently operates.

Palestinian health officials said a 16-year-old boy, Qaid Fathi Nasrallah, was shot dead by Israeli fire. The Islamic Jihad militant group also confirmed the deaths of three members, including Mohammed Jaber, who it said was its military commander in the area.

The Israeli military said its forces killed a number of militants, made arrests and found explosives there. Four Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded, it said.

Violence has flared in the West Bank since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. More than 460 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, Palestinian health officials say, as Israel stages frequent raids into towns and cities in the volatile territory.

The dead have included militants, but also stone-throwers and bystanders. Some have also been killed by violence from Israeli settlers.

STRIKE ON IRAN SUGGESTS ISRAEL DOESN'T SEEK ESCALATION, THINK TANK SAYS

WASHINGTON — The reported strikes Friday near an Iranian air base and Iran-backed targets in Syria and Iraq appear to show a limited response to Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend, according to a pro-Israel think tank based in Washington.

The apparent Israeli drone attack near a major air base and a nuclear site around the central Iranian city of Isfahan activated the country’s air defenses, just days after Tehran launched a drone and missile assault on Israel.

No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel had attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

But analysts said the relatively limited scope of the Israeli attack and subdued response by Tehran seem to indicate the threat of an immediate escalation had diminished.

The pro-Israel Jewish Institute for National Security of America, based in Washington, said that in addition to showing that Israel doesn’t appear to want to escalate tensions, the strikes seem intended to signal that Iran can’t attack Israel with impunity.

“Since Isfahan lies in the center of Iran and hosts both a military base and a nuclear site, the Israeli strike also demonstrated Israel’s ability to penetrate Iranian air defenses and reach key Iranian assets, should it decide to launch a larger strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” the group said in a statement.

IAEA CHIEF SAYS NO DAMAGE AT ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITY

BERLIN — The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog says there was no damage at the Isfahan nuclear facility after an apparent Israeli drone attack on a major air base near the Iranian city.

When asked about the nuclear facility on Sky News, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said “there hasn’t been any damage at the site or anything that would indicate that (there) were hits nearby or something that could lead you to believe that there was an intention to reach these places.”

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handling fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks.

Iranian authorities have said that air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

MISSILE REMNANTS FOUND SOUTHWEST OF BAGHDAD

BAGHDAD — Remnants of a missile were found Friday near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad.

An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to journalists, said the missile had been shot down as a result of jamming operations. The Iraqi army doesn’t have jamming devices of the type apparently used to down the missile, but Iran has provided such devices to its affiliated militias.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the missile was part of an Israeli attack on Iran or part of last weekend’s Iranian attack on Israel. In photographs from the scene published by local media, it appeared to be a air-to-surface missile. There were no reports of Iran using air-to-surface missiles in Saturday’s barrage, which included more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Tehran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on April 1 that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.

— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra.

ISRAEL'S LONG-TERM CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADED BY S&P

Israel’s long-term credit rating is being downgraded by S&P, which cited the risk of military escalation with Iran. It is the second major U.S. credit ratings agency to do so.

There was an apparent drone attack at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan early Friday, which is suspected of being part of an Israeli retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country days ago.

S&P’s downgrade was issued shortly before the strike in Iran and almost three months after Moody’s, another major U.S. credit agency, downgraded Israel’s rating due to the “ongoing military conflict with Hamas.”

S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Israel to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-’ and the short-term ratings to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+.’

TURKEY'S LEADER SAYS STATEMENTS BY IRAN AND ISRAEL 'ILLOGICAL'

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that statements issued by Iran and Israel after an apparent drone attack on Friday in Iran are “illogical.”

Erdogan, who is highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, also criticized the U.S. for continuing to support Israel in the U.N. Security Council as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran.

Erdogan told journalists that neither Iran nor Israel is taking “ownership” of the situation.

“Currently Israel is saying different things. Iran puts forward different views. There is no ownership (of the situation). There is not one statement that isn’t illogical,” he said.

Erdogan accused the U.S. of making conflicting statements about having prior knowledge of the drone strikes. He also reiterated that he would host Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday. When asked what would be on their agenda, Erdogan refused to give details.

BLINKEN SAYS U.S. NOT INVOLVED IN ANY 'OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS'

CAPRI, Italy — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States was not involved in any “offensive operations” in the apparent Israeli drone attack in Iran, but declined to respond to claims that Israel gave the U.S. advance notice of the action.

“I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said.

Asked to describe the current U.S.-Israel relationship, Blinken noted that Israel makes its own decisions, but the United States is committed to its security.

“We are committed to helping Israel defend itself and as necessary participating in its defense, as you saw just a few days ago,” Blinken said. “Again, Israel makes its decisions, but we have a commitment to defending it.

“And you saw an unprecedented attack from Iran, and Israel and the United States and others worked with Israel to make sure that that attack would not have devastating consequences. And thankfully, it did not.”

ISRAEL GAVE U.S. LAST-MINUTE WARNING ABOUT DRONE ATTACK ON IRAN, ITALY'S FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS

CAPRI, Italy — The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received “last minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, Italy’s foreign minister said.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the United States provided the information at a Friday morning session that was changed at the last minute to address the apparent attack. Tajani said the U.S. informed the G7 ministers that it had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the drones. “But there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”

He said Italians living in Iran were all accounted for and “without problems.”

Biden to host Turkey's Erdogan at White House on May 9

• Medium Text

• Erdogan makes first bilateral visit to Washington since 2019
• Erdogan, Biden expected to discuss Russia sanctions compliance, Syria
• Visit comes amid "window of opportunity" in ties
• NATO allies at odds over several issues but working to improve ties

Coming soon: Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World. Sign up here.

Additional reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan

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Thomson Reuters

Humeyra Pamuk is a senior foreign policy correspondent based in Washington DC. She covers the U.S. State Department, regularly traveling with U.S. Secretary of State. During her 20 years with Reuters, she has had postings in London, Dubai, Cairo and Turkey, covering everything from the Arab Spring and Syria's civil war to numerous Turkish elections and the Kurdish insurgency in the southeast. In 2017, she won the Knight-Bagehot fellowship program at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MA on European Union studies.

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More than 14 palestinians killed as violence flares in west bank.

Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, while an ambulance driver was killed as he went to pick up wounded from a separate attack by violent Jewish settlers, Palestinian authorities said.