Ukraine's Zelenskiy in Istanbul for security talks with Erdogan
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 15, 2025. Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in Istanbul for "substantive" talks on security issues with Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zelenskiy said on Saturday.
"We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people’s lives, advance stability and guarantee security in our Europe, as well as in the Middle East," Zelenskiy wrote on X.
Arrived in Istanbul, where important meetings are scheduled. Substantive talks have been prepared with the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people’s lives, advance stability and guarantee… pic.twitter.com/SsAeVbetMTHe did not elaborate further on the subject of the talks. Ukraine has recently signed security co-operation agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and says it is in talks with several other Middle Eastern states about similar arrangements.
Read More: Ukraine, UAE agree to cooperate on defence: Zelensky
After the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Ukraine has sought to leverage its counter-drone experience acquired during its four-year-long war against Russia.
Moscow has long deployed Iranian-designed drones to strike Ukraine since its February 2022 invasion.
Zelenskiy's spokesman told reporters that Zelenskiy would meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the most senior cleric in the Orthodox Church.