Erdogan Plans to Organize a Meeting Between Putin and Trump in Istanbul to Seek Paths to Peace
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put forward an ambitious initiative to facilitate a significant summit between two major world leaders — Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump — in the strategically located city of Istanbul.
Erdogan stated that this meeting aims to be a critical step towards resolving the ongoing crisis that has overshadowed the global community and towards restoring dialogue between Russia and the United States.
During a press conference on July 25, the Turkish leader emphasized: "We are actively working to organize negotiations between these two leaders and will do everything possible to ensure the meeting takes place in Istanbul." Details of this plan emerged amid recent discussions between Russia and Ukraine held in the same city, where both sides have attempted multiple times to find a compromise and settle the conflict.
Notably, on July 23, the third round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul, focusing solely on peaceful resolution efforts.
The first round of negotiations was held on May 16, the second on June 2.
During a briefing, Oleksandr Bevz, a senior adviser to the head of the President's Office, expressed hope that the next summit at the leader level would occur in August, with Ukraine reaffirming its proposal to hold this meeting with the participation of Presidents Zelensky and Putin, possibly involving Turkish President Erdogan and former U.S.
President Donald Trump.
The Turkish side actively supports this idea, which could represent a decisive step toward long-term peace in the region.