Zelensky Holds Trilateral Talks with Turkey and Syria in Damascus

The Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Igor Semivolos, commented on the important trilateral meeting that took place between the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria, as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky's negotiations with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in the Syrian capital, Damascus, during an interview with Radio NV.

Semivolos noted that Zelensky's visit to Syria, which also included a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, signifies Turkey's active involvement in shaping new diplomatic relations in the region. 'If you remember, the next visit was to Syria, where Hakan Fidan was, the Turkish Foreign Minister, and the Ukrainian delegation, and the trilateral negotiations at the level of foreign ministers, and President Zelensky's meeting with Ahmad al-Sharaa. This clearly indicates that, of course, they discussed the situation in the Middle East, and a significant portion of the time was dedicated to that,' the expert emphasized.

He also expressed the opinion that the trip of Zelensky and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Damascus was coordinated with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 'And since this took place from the territory of Turkey, and the Turkish presidential plane was involved in this, it is clear that the Turkish president was not just aware of this but facilitated it. In fact, this trilateral meeting indicates Turkey's significant interest in forming such a triangle,' Semivolos explained.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited Damascus for the first time on April 5, held talks with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. According to Zelensky, during the meeting, they discussed the situation in the Middle East and Russia's war against Ukraine. 'We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies. We discussed the situation in the region and the prospects for its improvement. We also talked about the circumstances of Russia's war against Ukraine, and I am grateful for the support. There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience,' the Ukrainian president stated in his message.

Zelensky also highlighted that he discussed with Ahmad al-Sharaa the possibility of food supplies to Syria and the overall strengthening of food security in the region. 'An important day of negotiations in Damascus — today there was both a bilateral format with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and negotiations involving our teams, and there was a trilateral conversation — Ukraine, Syria, Turkey. We are building new relationships, new opportunities, and expanding our work for the sake of security,' the Ukrainian president later noted.

He also reported that during the negotiations, a wide range of topics was discussed, from security and defense issues to the situation in the region, particularly concerning all events surrounding Iran, as well as energy and infrastructure cooperation between the countries. 'We will continue our work on food security. We talked in detail about how to overcome the consequences of the war and about the negotiation process regarding Russia's war against our state and people,' the Ukrainian president added.

Zelensky expressed gratitude to all Syrians who welcomed the Ukrainian delegation and reminded that Ukraine was among the first to support the new Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. This visit and the negotiations became an important step in the development of Ukraine's relations with Middle Eastern countries, particularly with Turkey and Syria.