Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Istanbul for security talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Saturday’s visit comes a day after Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Arrived in Istanbul, where important meetings are scheduled. Substantive talks have been prepared with the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan," said Zelenskyy on X.
"We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people's lives, advance stability and guarantee security in our Europe, as well as in the Middle East," he added.
Pushing for truce
Zelenskyy will also meet Istanbul Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of most Christian Orthodox churches.
This takes place a week before Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated in both Ukraine and Russia on April 12.
Kiev has been pushing for a truce over the Orthodox Easter holidays that would include a halt in attacks on energy infrastructure.
Russia, which is seeking a permanent settlement rather than a brief ceasefire, said it had not seen any "clearly formulated" proposals from Kiev.
