Ukrainian president spends Sunday in talks with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up diplomacy over Russia’s invasion of his country, holding talks with the leaders of the United States, Turkey and France amid protracted fighting on the eastern front of the nine-month-old war.
While Zelenskyy has held frequent talks with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since Russian forces invaded in late February, it is unusual for him to hold such discussions over a single day.
“We are constantly working with partners,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, adding that he expects some “important results” in the coming week from a series of international events that will focus on the situation in Ukraine.
In his talks with Biden, he thanked the US president for what he described as “the unprecedented defence and financial assistance that the USA provides to Ukraine”.
Such help was crucial, he said.
“This not only contributes to success on the battlefield, but also supports the stability of the Ukrainian economy.
“We also appreciate the help that the USA is providing to restore Ukraine’s energy system.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to convene an online meeting with G7 leaders and European Union foreign ministers on Monday to try and agree on further sanctions on Russia and additional aid or arms deliveries to Ukraine.Successive Russian missile and drone attacks have destroyed much of the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions of civilians without power and heating at a time when temperatures are at or below freezing.
“The G7 meeting will be held today — Ukraine will participate and now we have coordinated our positions with America,” Zelenskyy said after his call with Biden.
The energy crunch also formed a key part of the discussions with France’s Macron and Turkey’s Erdogan.
Zelenskyy described his more than one-hour conversation with Macron as “very meaningful” and covering “defence, energy, economy, diplomacy”.
Meanwhile, he also thanked Turkey for providing shelter to Ukrainian children and deploying hundreds of generators to cities across the country.
The Ukrainian president also said he and Erdogan discussed the possible expansion of the grain export deal that opened up Ukrainian ports for exports in July after a six-month de facto Russian blockade.
Turkey, which acted as a mediator in peace talks in the early months of the war, worked alongside the United Nations on that agreement.
Erdogan’s office said the Turkish leader also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and had called for a quick end to the conflict.