According to Kurdistan Press, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kiev, appreciated Ankara's role in trying to end the war and awarded Fidan with the Order of Honor of the Second Class of Ukraine.

Zelensky wrote in a message on the social network "X": "I am grateful to Turkey and the Foreign Minister himself for their efforts to bring peace closer. Today we discussed the diplomatic situation and steps that could reactivate the process of achieving peace.»

Turkey, a NATO member, has tried to maintain relations with both Black Sea neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, since the beginning of the war, and has played a mediating role between the two sides.

Ankara has been involved in several prisoner exchange agreements between Russia and Ukraine, and in 2022, it participated in the formation of an agreement on the safe transit of Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports, which was implemented for a year. Istanbul also hosted direct peace talks between the two countries in the first weeks of the war.

Zelensky announced that in his meeting with Fidan, in addition to the situation on the ground, Turkey’s diplomatic contacts at various levels were also discussed.

Hakan Fidan had also emphasized in a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha that the “Istanbul format” for peace talks should continue.According to Daily Sabah, Turkish Foreign Minister said that Ankara does not want the war to spread to the Black Sea and that Turkey is considering new strategic approaches to break the current stalemate.

He added: “There is no justification for a war in Europe to continue for five years in the 21st century. Today, we need peace more than ever.”

Fidan, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, stressed that Turkey is ready to host the next rounds of peace talks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha announced that Zelensky is ready to meet with Vladimir Putin in Turkey; although the Russian president has so far ruled out holding such a meeting before a final peace agreement is reached.

In another part of the meeting, the two sides also discussed the implementation of the free trade agreement between Turkey and Ukraine.The Ukrainian parliament ratified the agreement on Tuesday. The agreement was signed during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Ukraine in February 2022 and its ratification process in Turkey was completed in 2024.

“We expect that the volume of trade between the two countries will continue to increase,” Zelensky said, referring to the agreement.