Istanbul –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Türkiye for meetings President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tomorrow local time. This visit was the first time since the Russian invasion.
Reported AFPThursday (6/7/2023), the Turkish Presidency said the two leaders would hold a joint press conference after talks in Istanbul.
The meeting will focus on an expiring agreement to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea as well as a Nato summit next week.
But analysts expect Zelensky to push Erdogan to give the green light for Sweden’s membership in NATO ahead of a summit on July 11-12 in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
For your information, Turkey blocked Sweden’s candidacy due to a longstanding dispute over Stockholm’s perceived lax attitude towards suspected Kurdish militants living in the Nordic country.
Moreover, both Zelensky and Erdogan also want to extend a deal with Russia brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, in which Ukraine was allowed to ship grain to global markets during the war.
Erdogan has tried to use its good working relationship with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to broker an end to the war.
Türkiye has previously held two initial rounds of peace negotiations and is pushing for further talks.
But Western governments are worried about NATO member Turkey’s growing economic ties with Russia and its resistance to the bloc’s expansion.
(mae/aik)
2023-07-06 15:10:31
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