Turkey's Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, says Ukraine 'deserves' to be NATO member

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared his support on Friday for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO once the war is over. 

Speaking at a joint presser with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul late on Friday, Erdogan lended support to the Ukrainian push to enter the Transatlantic alliance. “Ukraine deserves to be a NATO member,” he said.

The support comes amid Zelenskyy’s fresh push on a European tour for his country’s admission to NATO once the war ends. Speaking in the Czech Republic earlier on Friday, Zelenskyy said the issuance of an invitation for his country to join NATO during the alliance's upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 would be “ideal.” But such a scenario is still seen unlikely amid US and European concerns of confrontation with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Zelenskyy, who traveled to Turkey for the first time since the war began in February 2022, was welcomed by senior Turkish officials as well as Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar, which manufactures Bayraktar armed drones that turned out to be an important asset in Kyiv’s defense strategy against Russia. He later met with Erdogan at a historical Istanbul palace. 

The Erdogan-Zelenskyy meeting stretched over 2½ hours. The two leaders discussed a wide array of issues including a potential prisoner swap with Russia, security of Black Sea routes and an extension of the Black Sea grain deal, the Ukrainian president said, as he thanked Erdogan for his country’s support to Ukraine.

Calling for alternative solutions in the Black Sea to carry Ukrainian grain and other products, the grain deal's fate “should not be dependent” on Russian leader Vladimir Putin's mood, Zelenskyy said. The current deal expires in 10 days.

Russia and Ukraine signed separate deals with Turkey and the United Nations to allow their grain and other products to reach world markets via the Black Sea. However, Moscow is dragging its feet to extend the deal on the grounds that obstacles before Russian exports remain intact. 

Speaking ahead of the Erdogan-Zelenskyy talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would also closely watch the outcome of the meeting in Istanbul. 

Putin to visit Turkey in August 

Pledging that Turkey would continue its efforts to extend the deal and to strike a prisoner swap between the two warring countries, Erdogan expressed his hope for the extension of the grain deal. 

Erdogan added that Putin was expected to visit Turkey in August and that he would discuss these issues during a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president.

Erdogan also said his country was in discussions with the Russian side over a potential prisoner swap between the warring countries. 

The two countries also signed a cooperation deal in the technology field as part of the visit.