On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of the latest leg of a journey to promote Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and get more weaponry from allies.
The negotiations in Istanbul take place on the 500th day after Russia’s invasion, and Zelensky admits that a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive is moving slowly.
“But nevertheless, we are advancing, not retreating, like Russians,” Zelensky told reporters. “We now have the initiative.”
The talks with Erdogan — an important broker in the conflict are due to focus on an expiring deal to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea as well as next week’s NATO summit.
Analysts expect Zelensky to press Erdogan to approve Sweden’s NATO membership ahead of the July 11-12 meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Turkey is opposing Sweden’s candidacy due to a long-standing disagreement over Stockholm’s perceived leniency toward alleged Kurdish extremists living in the Nordic country.
Zelensky is seeking NATO membership for his country, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since February 2022, and has stated that he hopes the conference would result in a “invitation” to join the alliance.
Both Zelensky and Erdogan want to extend a pact with Russia negotiated by the UN and Turkey that allows Ukraine to send grain to global markets during the war.
Unless Russia agrees to extend the agreement, it will expire on July 17.
Erdogan has attempted to use his solid working relationships with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrange a cease-fire.
Turkey has had two early rounds of peace talks and is pushing for more.
Before visiting Prague on Thursday, Zelensky travelled to Sofia to discuss weapons deliveries with Bulgaria, a major supporter and ammunitions producer.
