Ukraine aspires to “reinvigorate” a process mediated by Türkiye while its president looks to drum up more international support. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to Ankara on Wednesday, where he was scheduled to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Before the meeting with Erdoğan, Zelenskyy paid respects to the Republic of Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, visiting his mausoleum in the Turkish capital. Erdoğan was later scheduled to host a dinner for Zelenskyy and attend a joint news conference with the Ukrainian leader.

Zelenskyy’s last stopover in his tour of Europe was Spain, where he met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday. Russian and Ukrainian delegations last met in Istanbul last July, a meeting that led to a prisoner exchange but no certain end to the ongoing conflict between the two countries. Ukrainian authorities announced on Wednesday that at least 19 people have been killed in a Russian air attack in Ukraine’s Ternopil.

The Ukrainian leader announced in a social media post on Tuesday that he was preparing to reinvigorate negotiations and separately said he would discuss with Turkish officials on how to achieve a “just peace” in the ongoing conflict. “Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s top priority,” he said on Tuesday.

Türkiye is among the perfect candidates for mediating the conflict as it enjoys good relations with both sides. It is also a major member of NATO that remains vigilant against the possibility of a spillover of the conflict to Europe’s eastern flank. Istanbul was the venue of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the early weeks of the conflict three years ago.

Media reports have indicated that the United States, which also pushes for an end to the conflict, would also send its envoy Steve Witkoff to Türkiye to join Zelenskyy’s talks with Turkish officials, yet this report was not confirmed. The Kremlin also announced that no Russian representatives will travel to Türkiye for talks. Media outlet Axios has reported on Tuesday that Washington has been secretly working on a roadmap to end the war in consultation with Russia.

Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday there were no developments to announce on possible peace proposals since Putin and Trump held a summit in Alaska in August.

As Zelenskyy arrived in Ankara, a U.S. delegation comprised of defense officials visited Kyiv. The U.S. Embassy in the country announced that the delegation was on a “fact-finding mission.”

Ukraine and Russia reached a prisoner exchange understanding in talks brokered by Türkiye in 2022. The Istanbul agreements, as they are called informally, set out rules for large, coordinated swaps between Russia and Ukraine. Since then, the two have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic and often disrupted by front-line escalation in the war Russia launched against Ukraine in February 2022.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday that the Russia-Ukraine war has reached “its closest point to stopping,” stressing that the conflict has turned into a costly war of attrition for all involved.

In a statement on Tuesday, the head of the Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, said Turkish and Ukrainian delegations are expected to review the agenda between the two strategic partners and exchange views on efforts to secure a cease-fire and a lasting solution to the conflict.

The talks will also focus on initiatives under the “Istanbul Process” and other diplomatic channels aimed at advancing peace efforts and stabilizing the region, Duran said.