Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a 12 August phone call that Ankara is prepared to host a leaders’ summit on the war in Ukraine that would bring together the heads of Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Türkiye, according to readouts from both governments. Erdogan said the creation of military, humanitarian and political working groups could lay the groundwork for such a meeting and facilitate direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy welcomed Turkey’s offer but underlined that “there are no negotiations without Ukraine,” reiterating his demand that Kyiv be present at any talks aimed at ending the conflict. He added that a meeting of “three leaders” should be convened, without specifying which states beyond Ukraine and Russia he had in mind. The exchange underscores Ankara’s continued bid to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv, a role it has pursued since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.