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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held high-stakes talks in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, then traveled to Damascus on Sunday for a three-way meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to multiple reports.

Coverage Comparison

The meetings were covered by TASS, Russia’s state news agency, and Africa News, which cited the Associated Press. TASS focused on the Istanbul leg, emphasizing security cooperation, gas infrastructure projects, and Turkey’s role in facilitating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Africa News centered on the Damascus meeting, highlighting joint projects to rebuild Syria and regional security issues. Both outlets reported the Istanbul talks as lasting about two hours, held at the Dolmabahce presidential office, with no press conference scheduled.

Key Claims

Istanbul Talks: Security and Energy Cooperation

According to TASS, Zelenskyy said in a video address that he and Erdogan agreed on new steps in security cooperation. “We agreed on new steps in cooperation in the security sphere. This primarily concerns areas where we can support Turkey: expertise, technologies and experience,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying. He added that they discussed practical steps to implement joint projects in gas infrastructure construction and the possibility of jointly developing gas fields. The talks also covered bilateral relations and the situation in Europe and the Middle East, per TASS.

Turkey’s presidential communications department, as relayed by TASS, said Erdogan stated that Turkey will continue to support negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, emphasizing that “our region needs more peace and stability.” The statement also noted Erdogan attaches great importance to ensuring safety of navigation in the Black Sea and considers ensuring energy security a priority.

Damascus Meeting with Fidan and al-Sharaa

In Damascus, Zelenskyy and Fidan were welcomed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Presidential Palace, according to Africa News, citing Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. The talks focused on joint projects to rebuild Syria, regional issues including bringing northeast Syria under central government control, and the impact of conflicts in Iran and Lebanon.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he and al-Sharaa discussed the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine, adding there is “strong interest in exchanging military and security experience” between Ukraine and Syria. He also said new defense deals between Turkey and Ukraine could be signed soon, a claim reported by Africa News.

Perspectives

The Istanbul meeting occurred after a telephone conversation between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to TASS. The Russian leader reportedly expressed gratitude to his Turkish counterpart for his continued readiness to facilitate the negotiation process. TASS also noted that last year, three rounds of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations were held in Istanbul, referencing what it called the “Istanbul process.” Turkey’s communications director Burhanettin Duran, quoted by TASS, said the talks aimed to discuss bilateral agenda, regional developments, and efforts to establish a ceasefire and lasting settlement “primarily within the framework of the Istanbul process.”

After the Istanbul talks, Zelenskyy visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at his residence in the Balat district, as reported by TASS and confirmed by an Africa News photo caption. For Fidan, the Damascus visit was his first to Syria since December 22, 2025, when he traveled with Turkey’s defense minister and intelligence chief, per Africa News.

While TASS and Africa News both report on the same diplomatic activities, their emphases differ: TASS frames the visit primarily through the lens of Ukraine-Russia settlement efforts and Russian-Turkish coordination, whereas Africa News highlights the trilateral Ukraine-Turkey-Syria cooperation and regional security matters. The claim that new defense deals between Turkey and Ukraine could be signed soon was carried only by a single outlet (Africa News) and has not been independently confirmed by other sources.