President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a series of key international meetings, including negotiations set to take place in Turkey on Wednesday, Nov. 19, where US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reportedly also expected to arrive.

In a Telegram post, Zelensky said he is in Spain on Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He noted that Ukraine expects new agreements that will boost its defense capabilities and better protect civilians.

“Every day in relations with partners there must be a result for Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote.

The president added that Wednesday’s meetings in Turkey will focus on intensifying diplomatic efforts and presenting a set of proposals Ukraine has prepared for its partners.

According to Zelensky, securing the return of Ukrainian prisoners remains a top priority.

“We are preparing to intensify the negotiations, and we have worked out solutions that we will offer to our partners. Making every effort to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s first priority,” he said.

“We are also working to resume exchanges and the return of prisoners,” he added.

Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters’ Moscow-based Bureau Chief for Russia and the CIS, wrote on X that Zelensky will meet with Witkoff in Turkey:

“US special envoy Witkoff to visit Turkey on Wednesday, will join talks with Zelensky, Turkish source says.”

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Ukraine and Russia held three rounds of talks in Istanbul in May, June, and July 2025. During the meetings, the Ukrainian delegation reiterated its readiness for an immediate ceasefire and laid out its core conditions: a full halt to hostilities, a “silence regime” along the entire front line, and an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Moscow, however, refused to agree to a ceasefire.

After the second round, Russia handed Kyiv a so-called “memorandum” containing several ultimatums - including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four regions, an end to Western military aid, the termination of mobilization and martial law, the holding of elections, and a halt to what Moscow called “subversive activity” against Russia.

The only tangible outcome of the talks was an agreement on a prisoner exchange.

Witkoff “had no idea about Russia” or Vladimir Putin and “wasn’t too interested” when he first began negotiating with the Kremlin over a potential peace deal for Ukraine, Trump said in mid-October.

Trump praised Witkoff’s unusual effectiveness, saying most envoys “wouldn’t be accepted” by the Kremlin or would have meetings that “last five minutes.” “Everybody loves him,” Trump said. “They love him on this side, they love him on the other side.”

Witkoff’s unconventional role has drawn sharp criticism. Politico reported in August, citing 13 sources, that officials in the US, Ukraine and Europe were alarmed by his “go-it-alone style,” saying he often refused to consult experts and sometimes relied on Kremlin-provided translators.

“He’s kind of a rogue actor,” one US official said. “He talks to all these people, but no one knows what he says.”

Still, Witkoff has received praise from parts of the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance said the envoy “had made more progress towards ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.”

Ukraine has also recently restarted consultations, with help from mediators in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, on a new prisoner-of-war exchange with Russia – a process both sides initially agreed to in July.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov said on Saturday the talks aim to revive the “Istanbul agreements,” which include a plan to free about 1,200 Ukrainians held by Russia.

In October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to negotiate with Moscow, but only based on the current front line.

Last week, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia told The Times that the broader negotiation process had stalled because summer meetings in Istanbul produced no progress.

He said it was impossible to hold meaningful discussions with a delegation “representing a dictator,” adding that the Russian side operates under a rigid mandate and must strictly defend the position it is given.