Zelenskyy invites Erdoğan to Kyiv

Diplomatic traffic between Ukraine and Turkey is gaining momentum once again. Contacts maintained between Ankara and Kyiv since the beginning of the war cover many topics, including both bilateral relations and efforts for regional peace.

Ukraine's Ambassador to Ankara, Vasyl Bodnar, stated in an interview with the RBK-Ukraine news agency on August 4 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Kyiv.

President Erdoğan previously met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv for the first time on February 3, 2022, weeks before the war began, and subsequently visited Lviv in August 2022.

CRITICAL AGENDA: TRADE AGREEMENT

According to Bodnar, one of the most critical items on the agenda for the visit will be the mutual ratification of the long-awaited Turkey-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (FTA). FTA negotiations between the two countries were first initiated in 2007, but the process remained stalled for many years due to comprehensive tariff reductions and sectoral sensitivities. The parties finally signed the agreement on February 3, 2022, just three weeks before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As of August 2024, Turkey has announced that it is ready to ratify and implement the FTA. However, the Ukrainian side has not yet ratified the agreement in parliament due to war conditions and the domestic political agenda. Nevertheless, the Kyiv administration continues to view the FTA with Turkey as a strategic step within the framework of its policy of deep economic integration with the European Union (EU).

The agreement provides for the removal of import duties on approximately 93.4 percent of Turkish industrial products and 7.6 percent of agricultural products. In this context, sectors such as machinery, automotive sub-industry, textiles, furniture, and white goods will gain significant export advantages for Turkey. Ukraine, meanwhile, aims to gain easier access to the Turkish market through customs reductions on agricultural products, raw materials, and metal inputs.

According to experts, the ratification of the agreement has the potential to increase the annual trade volume between the two countries to the 10 billion dollar level in the short term and to 15 billion dollars in the medium term. Furthermore, the agreement is considered a key lever for attracting Turkish investments during Ukraine's post-war reconstruction process.

RESULTS FROM THE LAST SUMMIT

According to a report in the Kyiv Post, Turkey's mediation activities aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine will also be discussed during the meetings. 

Turkish officials announced on July 28 that Turkey is ready to host peace talks between delegations from the two countries again to end the Russia-Ukraine war. 

During the Russia-Ukraine peace talks held in Istanbul on July 23, an agreement was reached on the mutual exchange of approximately 1,200 prisoners. Additionally, the delivery of the remains of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers and the evacuation of the wounded and dead from the front line through temporary 24-48 hour ceasefires were proposed.

Russia has conditioned the end of hostilities on the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from occupied territories or the cessation of mobilization and foreign military aid. Kyiv, on the other hand, insists on an unconditional ceasefire and a direct leaders' summit between Zelenskyy and Putin. Ukraine has proposed that Erdoğan and Trump also attend this summit.

PUTIN-ZELENSKYY MEETING

The Ukrainian side is demanding an immediate ceasefire without any preconditions and the organization of a direct 'leaders' summit' between Zelenskyy and Putin, but the Russian side opposes this. Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that a Putin-Zelenskyy summit could only take place after serious preparations. 

Medinsky said, "It is not possible for a meeting at the leaders' level to take place without clarifying which issues will be discussed at the summit and under what conditions," and further noted that such a summit should be a 'turning point symbolizing the end of the war.'

On the other hand, despite the differences of opinion between the parties, progress has been made on humanitarian issues, and the groundwork has been laid for a fourth round of negotiations.

Turkey has announced that it will continue its role as both a diplomatic mediator and a humanitarian facilitator in the peace process.