Erdoğan is best positioned to guarantee Putin’s safety at peace talks

One of the key arguments in favor of Turkey as a venue for potential peace talks is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ability to guarantee personal security for Vladimir Putin — unlike many other countries obligated to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant.

“Among all possible mediator countries, Turkey, in my view, is the most suitable,” Ukraine’s ambassador said.

According to the diplomat, Erdoğan is actively pushing for a meeting between world leaders, holding direct phone talks with all sides involved. However, the main obstacle remains Russia’s unwillingness to agree to such a format.

“President Zelenskyy has long been ready for this meeting, as has the Turkish president. The U.S. president has also shown readiness, for example. But Russia refuses. After three rounds of talks, their position has not changed,” the ambassador said.

Moscow insists that expert-level negotiations must take place first, and only if Russia sees a beneficial outcome will it consider discussing a cease-fire, the ambassador added. Ukraine, by contrast, proposes a different approach: first declaring a cease-fire, then launching working group discussions, and finally holding a leaders’ summit to outline a framework for a potential deal.

The ambassador stressed the importance of the U.S. and Turkish presidents attending the meeting as “credible witnesses to the talks and guarantors of any future agreements.”

He added that changing Russia’s stance will require greater pressure, which can be achieved by bolstering Ukraine’s defense capabilities and continuing sanctions. The goal is to force Moscow into a “real conversation” and stop what he described as a performative process of talks for the sake of talks imposed by the occupying power.

On July 23, Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s negotiating delegation, said Kyiv had proposed holding a summit with the participation of Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump in Istanbul by the end of August. Ukraine had previously pushed for such a meeting back in June during the second round of talks with Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said any leaders’ summit must be “thoroughly prepared” and should serve as the moment “to put a full stop” to the war.

On Aug. 1, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, responding to a 10-day ultimatum issued by Trump to Putin, reiterated that Ukraine is ready to move beyond statements and technical-level meetings to direct talks at the level of heads of state.