Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in İstanbul on Saturday for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to the Ukrainian presidency, in a visit expected to focus on security cooperation.
The visit came a day after Erdoğan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused Ukraine of trying to target a gas pipeline linking Russia and Turkey that also supplies parts of Europe.
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/SsAeVbetMT
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 4, 2026
“Arrived in Istanbul, where important meetings are scheduled. Substantive talks have been prepared with the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” Zelensky said on X.
“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. Joint efforts always deliver the best results,” he added.
The Turkish presidency confirmed the visit and said the talks would address “efforts towards a ceasefire and a lasting solution, particularly within the framework of the Istanbul process.”
An Agence France-Presse correspondent saw heavy police deployment around Dolmabahçe Palace on the Bosporus, where the meeting was being held. The palace previously hosted rounds of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelensky is also expected to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of many Orthodox Christians around the world.
The visit comes a week before Orthodox Easter, which falls on April 12 this year in both Ukraine and Russia. Kyiv has been pressing for a holiday truce that would include a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.
Russia has said it is seeking a permanent settlement rather than a brief ceasefire and has claimed it has not received any clearly formulated proposals from Kyiv.
Ukraine has targeted Russian energy infrastructure during the more than four-year conflict in an effort to weaken Moscow’s war effort. Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, meanwhile, have caused blackouts and heating shortages for millions since the start of the invasion.
© Agence France-Presse