Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said. Zelenskyy said that if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there.

Ukraine has so far only considered a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. No other formats of contact with Russia were discussed, stated Zelenskyy during a press conference.

The Kremlin declined to say whether Putin would attend talks on the war in Ukraine.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he would attend talks on the war in Ukraine this week only if Russian President Vladimir Putin is also present.