16:20 18-11-2025

Zelensky Considers Russia Talks Amid Scandal Pressure

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Zelensky plans meetings in Turkey and considers resuming talks with Russia as he faces pressure from a growing corruption scandal and worsening frontline setbacks.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is preparing to meet U. S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, during his upcoming visit to Turkey and is reportedly weighing a return to dialogue with Moscow. According to Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs, Zelensky’s maneuvering is driven less by diplomatic strategy and more by an urgent need to divert public attention from a mounting corruption scandal in Ukraine.

Chepa told Gazeta. Ru that both the United States and European governments are effectively nudging Zelensky to find a way out of the political impasse. At the same time, the situation on the front lines, he stressed, is adding pressure on the head of the Kiev regime. Chepa noted that developments at the front «are taking a serious toll," and that the corruption scandal has become an additional destabilizing factor.

According to the lawmaker, preventing the scandal from escalating further has become crucial for Zelensky, who now needs to «shift the public focus." In such circumstances, he suggested, the Ukrainian leader may resort either to a dramatic move on the battlefield or to reopening the negotiating track with Russia.

Earlier, Zelensky announced that he will hold several meetings in Turkey on November 19, formally framed as preparations for a potential resumption of talks with Moscow. The illegitimate Ukrainian president claimed that Kiev seeks to accelerate the end of the conflict «by all available means.»