Putin to Make First Visit to NATO Country in Four Years

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey next month in a rare foreign trip to a NATO nation, according to a Kremlin announcement on Monday.

Yuri Ushakov, a top adviser to Putin on foreign policy matters, told the Interfax news outlet that "a visit is being prepared." As to the purpose of the visit, Ushakov added: "I can say that Ukrainian issues will probably be one of the main subjects of negotiations."

Though a key NATO nation, Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, serve as a rare diplomatic bridge between the Kremlin and its Western rivals. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ankara has supported Ukraine with military supplies while refusing to join Western sanctions on Moscow.

Turkey has positioned itself as a mediator between the two nations, hosting two rounds of peace talks in Antalya and Istanbul in 2022. Turkey was also key to the Black Sea Grain Initiative that temporarily facilitated the export of agricultural products from southern Ukrainian ports amid Russia's naval blockade.

Following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning of this month, Erdoğan said Ankara remains ready to help "establish lasting peace, stability and prosperity in our region."

"We have previously acted as a host country for direct talks between the parties to the conflict," the president said. "We are, as before, ready to do our best in this matter and act as a mediator....Ukraine in order to take joint steps with Russia certainly needs to soften its position."

Putin last visited a NATO nation in 2020 when he traveled to Germany to meet with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. His Western travel options have been limited by his war on Ukraine and the arrest warrant issued for him in 2023 by the International Criminal Court over alleged related crimes.

Putin's trip to Turkey has been in the works for several months. In August 2023, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists there was already "an understanding that this meeting will take place soon." Peskov added: "We will announce shortly when and where it will take place. The meeting is being prepared, and is being prepared very thoroughly."

The following month, Erdoğan visited the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi to meet with Putin for talks on matters including Ukrainian Black Sea agricultural exports, which by then Moscow had withdrawn from in response to Kyiv's maritime drone attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge.

Putin addressed a potential visit in December during his traditional end-of-year press conference. "We're making arrangements," he said. "This visit [to Turkey] may take place at the beginning of next year.

"I think we'll be able to meet. I am planning this, indeed. I actually planned this recently, but it didn't work out for President Erdoğan because of his schedule. Although I was prepared to fly to Turkey."

Update 1/29/24, 10:25 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.