Lviv hosts Erdogan, UN chief Guterres for talks with Zelensky

Ukraine’s Lviv has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for bilateral talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader’s office reports.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed Ukrainian-Turkish relations and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant developments. Erdogan and Zelensky also spoke about Ukrainian grain exports. The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper notes that it is Erdogan’s first visit to Ukraine since the war broke out.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres joined the meeting later. The trilateral talks were held behind closed doors and went on for 40 minutes.

According to Zelensky, the meeting with Guterres focused on the illegal and forced deportation of Ukrainians as well as the release of captured Ukrainian service members and medical staff.

“Particular attention was paid to the topic of nuclear blackmail by Russia in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant situation. This deliberate terror advanced by the aggressor can have global catastrophic ramifications. Therefore, the UN should ensure the security of this strategic facility, its demilitarization and complete liberation from the Russian forces,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, Zelensky called ban all Russian citizens from entering Western countries. He believes that this step would prevent Russia from annexing more Ukrainian territories.

“They will understand it then. They will say, ‘This [war] has nothing to do with us. The whole population cannot bear responsibility, can they?’ They can. The population elected this government and do not oppose it, do not scream at it,” Zelensky said.