Turkey to repeat offer to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks at London summit, source says

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ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey’s foreign minister will reiterate at Sunday’s meeting of European leaders in London an offer from Ankara to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Saturday.

NATO-member Turkey hosted initial talks between the sides months after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping secure a deal for the safe passage of grain exports in the Black Sea. It has said any future peace talks must include both countries.

While repeatedly calling for a ceasefire since 2024, Ankara has welcomed the U.S. initiative to end the war, which was derailed by a public argument between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States in Washington on Friday.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will brief European leaders on Turkey’s efforts to find a “fair and lasting peace” to the war, the source said, adding he will also affirm Ankara’s commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Fidan is expected to “underline that Turkey, which hosted direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022, is ready to take up this role in the coming period”, and emphasise that all parties must jointly focus on lasting regional security and stability, as well as economic prosperity, in negotiations, the person added.

A Black Sea littoral state like Ukraine and Russia, Turkey has maintained good ties with both since the start of the war. It has provided Kyiv with military support, while refusing to participate in Western sanctions against Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Turkey last month, on the same day U.S. and Russian representatives met for talks – without Kyiv’s participation – in Riyadh aimed at ending the war.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also held talks in Ankara. On Saturday, Fidan and Lavrov discussed the latest developments around the Ukraine-Russia war in a phone call, the source said, marking the third contact between them in the past two weeks.

On Thursday, delegations from the United States and Russia met in Istanbul for talks aimed at addressing bilateral issues regarding the operations of their respective embassies.

Zelenskiy said last week that he saw Turkey as an important security guarantor for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Editing by William Maclean and Daren Butler)