Zelensky seeks summit

Ukraine is pressing for a face-to-face meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin after months of stalled peace contacts. (apnews.com) Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on April 22 that Kyiv had formally asked Turkey to host the summit. He said Ukraine would not accept Belarus or Russia as the venue. (apnews.com) (bloomberg.com) Turkey has brokered between the two sides before, including the Black Sea grain deal and earlier wartime contacts. Zelensky said in 2024 that Ankara held a “principled position” on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. (president.gov.ua) Kyiv is trying to restart negotiations as U.S.-led peace efforts have lost momentum. The war is now in its fifth year after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. (apnews.com) The proposal also reflects Ukraine’s effort to keep talks on neutral ground. Rejecting Belarus matters because Minsk has aligned closely with Moscow and let Russian forces use its territory during the opening phase of the invasion. (apnews.com) Moscow has not embraced the idea. Reports on April 22 said Russia had rebuffed new calls for direct talks even as Kyiv kept pushing for a leaders’ meeting. (independent.co.uk) (apnews.com) A separate proposal underscored how much the diplomacy now runs through Washington. Time reported that Ukrainian negotiators floated branding a contested part of Donbas as “Donnyland,” a nod to President Donald Trump, during discussions around a possible settlement map. (time.com) That idea has not become policy, and it landed as a symbol of Kyiv’s attempt to keep the White House engaged while seeking terms it can accept. For now, Ukraine has a venue in mind, a summit request on the table, and no sign yet that Putin will show up. (time.com) (apnews.com)