President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday after speaking with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey will take part in peace talks next week to discuss ways to end the Ukraine conflict.
The Mediterranean island of Malta announced Friday that it will host a round of Ukraine peace talks on October 28-29, following similar meetings earlier this year in Jeddah and Copenhagen.
Russia is not expected to take part in the talks, which Zelensky hopes will rally support for his own peace plan.
Similar talks were held in Copenhagen in June and in the Saudi city of Jeddah in August.
Representatives from around 40 countries including China, India, the United States and Ukraine took part in the Saudi summit, which did not result in a final declaration.
Russia and Ukraine are both bracing for a harsh winter, with Ukraine warning of new attacks on its energy infrastructure and Russia attempting to suppress a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Turkey has offered to mediate between the two warring parties, assisting in the brokering of a deal in July last year that allowed for safe grain exports via the Black Sea.
Since then, Turkey has been in talks with both parties about reviving the deal, which fell apart after Russia pulled out less than a year later.
