• Accorded warm welcome at Downing Street, Ukrainian leader expected to meet Charles ahead of Kyiv summit
• Turkiye to offer hosting peace talks

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volo­dymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he was still “ready” to sign a minerals deal with the United States that fell through after a televised clash with President Donald Trump.

“We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees,” Zelensky said in a post on X, a day after an undiplomatic row with the US president that left Kyiv’s European allies scrambling for new responses to Russia’s invasion.

The Ukrainian president touched down in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday afternoon, ahead of emergency talks on Sunday with Kyiv’s European backers and Zelensky’s visit to King Charles.

Starmer gave President Zelensky a warm welcome to his Downing Street offices. “You’re very, very welcome here in Downing Street,” he said. “And as you’ve heard from the cheers street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take.”

Turkiye’s offer

At Sunday’s meeting of European leaders in London, Turkiye’s foreign minister will reiterate an offer from Ankara to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Nato member Turkiye hosted initial talks between the sides months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helping secure a deal for the safe passage of grain exports in the Black Sea. It said any future peace talks must include both countries, while also welcoming the US initiative to end the war.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will brief European leaders on Turkiye’s efforts to find a “fair and lasting peace” to the war, the source said, adding he would also affirm Ankara’s commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Fidan is expected to “underline that Turkiye, which hosted direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022, is ready to take up this role in the coming period”, and emphasise that all parties must jointly focus on lasting regional security and stability, as well as economic prosperity, in negotiations, the source added.

Turkiye has maintained good ties with Ukraine and Russia. Zelensky visited Turkiye last month, on the same day US and Russian representatives met for talks — without Kyiv’s participation — in Riyadh aimed at ending the war.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025