UPDATE - Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv

UPDATES WITH TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER'S MEETING WITH UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER, CHANGES IN DECK, BODY

By Can Efesoy, Beril Canakci and Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Fidan, who traveled to Ukraine on an official visit, also met Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Further details on the meetings were not immediately available.

Earlier, the Turkish foreign minister held a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

Fidan said Türkiye hopes to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the next round of peace talks, which would also include US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sybiha said Ukraine is ready to discuss a temporary ceasefire, noting: “We want to end the war this year and are ready to discuss a ceasefire–whether for 30, 50, or 100 days.”

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was ready for a second round of peace talks in Türkiye and had finalized its memorandum outlining a potential settlement.

On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in three years in Istanbul, where the two sides notably agreed to a large-scale exchange of prisoners involving a total of 1,000 people from each side.​​​​​​​