On August 18, a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Turkey and the UN Secretary General took place in Lviv. The topics of discussion included the possibility of conducting negotiations, issues of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, prisoners of war, grain supply, pseudo-referendums, and reconstruction of destroyed cities.
1. Negotiations with Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky has clearly defined the only condition that will make it possible to start building a dialogue with Russia: the complete withdrawal of the aggressor’s troops from the territory of Ukraine. In his turn, the President of Turkey stated that he is ready to resume the Istanbul format of negotiations and is prepared to act as a mediator in them.
2. ZNPP
All participants agreed that nuclear safety remains one of the most important issues. Zelensky reminded, that Russia will not allow the IAEA mission to monitor the situation at the ZNPP. Guterres agreed that Russian troops should be completely withdrawn from the territory of the plant: “Common sense should prevail to avoid any actions that could endanger the physical integrity and safety of the nuclear plant. The facility must not be used as part of any military operation.”
3. Prisoners of war
Erdogan promised to continue negotiations with Putin on monitoring the exchange of prisoners. President Zelensky called on the UN Secretary General to facilitate the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and to investigate the violation of international humanitarian law by the Russian occupiers in Olenivka during the treacherous killing of Ukrainian captives of Azov.
4. Supply of grain
Zelensky: “We talked about the grain export initiative. The result is there – and not only for Ukraine but also for the world, because the severity of the global food crisis is decreasing. That’s why we really need more security, a larger volume of exports, more ships that can deliver Ukrainian food from our ports.”
5. Pseudo-referendums
The President of Ukraine called on his international colleagues to maintain the strictest possible position towards the occupiers, who will potentially try to declare a pseudo-republic on the territory of occupied parts of Ukraine.
6. Reconstruction of destroyed cities
Ankara is ready to help with the reconstruction of Kharkiv and Kharkiv region. Ukraine and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding: Turkish business and state structures will promote the development of reconstruction projects and provide consulting and technical assistance.