Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Russia May 26-27 at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday, citing the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
During his visit Fidan is expected to be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking a high-level diplomatic engagement amid ongoing global tensions surrounding Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Fidan will also have bilateral meetings with top Russian officials, including Deputy President Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in peace talks with Ukraine in İstanbul on May 16, and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.
Russian and Ukrainian delegates met in İstanbul last week with the prospect that their leaders would also hold talks. But the only substantial outcome of the discussions was an agreement on the exchange of prisoners. Putin didn’t attend the meeting and sent lower level delegates.
Fidan, who presided over the talks, said the sides had “agreed in principle to meet again” and would present ceasefire ideas “in writing.”
The agenda during Fidan’s visit will include bilateral relations and potential new steps in areas such as trade, energy and tourism. Turkish diplomatic sources said Fidan will reiterate Ankara’s support for a just and lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war and stress Turkey’s willingness to continue its role as a facilitator in future negotiations.
This will be Fidan’s first official visit to Russia in nearly a year. His last trip to the country was in June 2024 for a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, followed by his attendance at the BRICS Summit in October along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Fidan and Lavrov last met in April at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Lavrov also visited Turkey in February for talks with Fidan, and the two diplomats participated in the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform meeting in İstanbul in October.