Zelensky to visit Istanbul on 31 October for talks with Erdogan on Black Sea security

The visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due in Istanbul on 31 October 2026 at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish presidency announced the trip on Friday, 30 October, through Burhanettin Duran, its head of communications, who described it as a working visit. The two leaders are expected to exchange views on regional and international developments. Turkish officials also plan to examine ways to deepen bilateral cooperation between Ankara and Kyiv. A joint press conference is scheduled at the end of the consultations, where both presidents are to set out the outcomes of their discussions.

Agenda: the war and Black Sea shipping

The talks will focus on the war Russia launched against Ukraine and on the security of navigation in the Black Sea. The Black Sea has been hit by repeated attacks in recent months, which have put commercial shipping and Turkey's economic interests at risk. In September, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP that Ankara had presented Kyiv and Moscow with a draft protocol aimed at halting strikes on merchant ships. The draft was modelled on the grain agreement signed in July 2022 under UN and Turkish auspices, which Moscow denounced after roughly a year. Turkey's argument is that the grain framework showed diplomacy can unlock agricultural exports vital for global food security.

Turkey's mediating role

In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 28 October, Erdogan said Turkey was ready to back efforts to restart talks between Ukraine and Russia and to end the war through negotiation. Turkey is a NATO member that has not applied Western sanctions against the Kremlin, and it keeps close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv. Positioned at the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, it hosted two rounds of Ukraine-Russia talks in March 2022, less than a month after Russia invaded, following earlier talks held in Belarus. Ankara regularly offers to host further peace talks between the two countries.

What comes next

The process has been stalled since the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on 28 February 2026. Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold a new round of peace talks in November in Abu Dhabi, under US mediation. The Istanbul meeting on 31 October is therefore the next step on Turkey's track, with the Black Sea protocol as the item Ankara has put on the table. Both leaders' remarks at the planned press conference will show how far the discussions have moved on navigation security and the wider war.