Erdogan hoping to persuade Zelenskyy to freeze war – Bloomberg
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to propose freezing the Russo-Ukrainian war at its current positions during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the Turkish leader's plans.
Two European officials told journalists that there is growing recognition that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may need to compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as "it has become clear that neither side can secure a decisive victory".
A key provision of Zelenskyy's Victory Plan is Ukraine's invitation to join NATO before the war ends.
However, Erdoğan proposes that Zelenskyy, as a "concession to Putin," agree to postpone discussions on joining the Alliance for at least 10 years, according to Bloomberg's sources.
The Turkish proposal envisions creating a demilitarized zone in eastern Donbas, with Erdoğan suggesting deploying international troops there as additional guarantees for Ukraine. Additionally, Ankara proposes providing Ukraine with military supplies as "compensation" for agreeing to forgo the path to NATO.
Turkish officials acknowledge that such a proposal will be difficult for Ukraine to accept but consider it the most realistic approach. They want to suspend discussions about the long-term fate of the occupied territories to focus first on ensuring a stable ceasefire.
Sources say Erdoğan hopes to convince Zelenskyy to participate in peace talks in Istanbul, as he has seen intelligence indicating that Ukraine could lose significantly more territory in the coming months if hostilities are not halted. However, this also gives Putin an incentive to continue fighting.
Following the announcement of the US presidential election results on November 6, Donald Trump promised that there would be no wars during his term.
According to Fox News, Trump will appoint a special envoy to Ukraine to lead negotiations to end the war with Russia.
On November 15, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held his first phone conversation with Putin in nearly two years.
