Zelenskyy meets Erdogan in Istanbul for security talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in Istanbul for "substantive" talks on security issues with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, Zelenskiy said on Saturday.

"We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people’s lives, advance stability and guarantee security in our Europe, as well as in the Middle East," Zelenskiy wrote on X.

He did not elaborate further on the subject of the talks. Ukraine has recently signed security co-operation agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and says it is in talks with several other Middle Eastern states about similar arrangements.

After the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Ukraine has sought to leverage its counter-drone experience acquired during its four-year-long war against Russia.

Moscow has long deployed Iranian-designed drones to strike Ukraine since its February 2022 invasion.

Zelenskiy's spokesman told reporters that Zelenskiy would meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the most senior cleric in the Orthodox Church.