Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 26, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Zelenskiy proposes Turkey, Gulf States, or Europe for talks with Putin to end the Ukraine war, emphasizing the need for global pressure on Russia.
(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Turkey, the Gulf States or European countries could host any talks he may hold with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskiy is pushing for direct talks with Putin to help end Russia's war in Ukraine but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no agenda had been prepared for such a meeting.
"Now, this week there will be contacts with Turkey, contacts with the Gulf States and with European states which could host talks with the Russians," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
"From our side, things will be prepared to the maximum in order to end the war."
Zelenskiy spoke as his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he and Ukraine's national security council chief were in Qatar to meet that country's defence minister.
In his comments, Zelenskiy also said that moving ahead with talks depended on coordination with Ukraine's partners, primarily the United States, in ensuring that sufficient pressure was exerted on Russia. This, he said, had been discussed on Monday in Kyiv with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg.
"Everything further depends strictly on the will of world leaders, most importantly the United States of America, to put pressure on Russia," Zelenskiy said.
"Russia is only giving signals that it is going to continue to avoid real negotiations. This can only be changed by strong sanctions, strong tariffs – real pressure."
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Yuliia DysaEditing by Gareth Jones)
Zelenskiy mentioned that Turkey, the Gulf States, or European countries could host talks with Putin to help end the war in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that no agenda had been prepared for a meeting with Zelenskiy, indicating Russia's reluctance to engage in real negotiations.
Zelenskiy emphasized that the success of the talks depended on coordination with Ukraine's partners, primarily the United States, to exert pressure on Russia.
Zelenskiy indicated that strong sanctions and tariffs could potentially change Russia's avoidance of real negotiations.
Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was in Qatar to meet with the country's defense minister as part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.
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