President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General António Guterres in Lviv. CNN Turk reports that the meeting lasted about 40 minutes.

Zelensky discussed with Erdogan the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, nuclear blackmail and the theft of grain by Russia. The Ukrainian president spoke with Guterres about a possible IAEA mission to the ZNPP.

Turkey and Ukraine also signed a memorandum on the restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure following the talks. The memorandum providing for the participation of the Turkish side in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine was signed by the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and the Minister of Trade of Turkey Mehmet Mus.

Zelensky posted pictures from the meeting on his Telegram channel and commented on Erdogan's visit:

“The visit of the President of Turkey to Ukraine is a powerful signal of support from such a powerful country. During the meeting in Lvov, we discussed with Recep Tayyip Erdogan the possibility of improving the grain initiative, the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and nuclear blackmail by the occupiers, large-scale theft of grain by Russia in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Issues of defense cooperation were also touched upon.”

Erdogan held talks with Vladimir Putin in early August, as a result, they agreed to switch to partial payment for Russian gas in rubles, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported. The talks lasted more than four hours, following the meeting, the Kremlin issued a joint statement . Putin and Erdogan also agreed to increase "the volume of bilateral trade" and cooperation in several areas. In addition, the presidents recognized the important role of countries in concluding the “Initiative for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports”.

Since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, the Turkish authorities have adhered to the so-called "balanced neutrality", actively taking part in the conflict as a negotiator. Erdogan provided Istanbul as a negotiating platform for military negotiations, Turkey also helped to resume the supply of grain from Ukraine to world markets. Western states fear that "balanced neutrality" could turn Russia into a "window of opportunity" to circumvent sanctions.