Will Putin meet Zelensky in Turkey?
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he’s ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally" in Istanbul on Thursday for talks over ending the war.
But is this meeting likely to materialise? And is this a smart move from Zelensky or a potential win for Putin?
Lucy and Vitaly are joined by chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet to chew over the significance of a potentially conflict-changing meeting.
Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Ben Carter, Samantha Granville and Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480
You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:04.7 | It's 1,174 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:10.1 | And yet again, a change of momentum in these protracted efforts for peace |
| 0:14.2 | amidst the promise of a potentially conflict-shifting meeting |
| 0:17.5 | between Presidents Zelensky and Putin and Istanbul this Thursday. |
| 0:22.9 | This latest milestone materialised breakneck speed over the weekend, as new Western pressure |
| 0:27.8 | apparently forced Russia into its most fourth-right commitment to face-to-face talk so far. |
| 0:33.6 | But has anything actually changed, or is this just another mirage? |
| 0:38.7 | This is Ukrainecast. |
| 0:40.9 | Ukraine cast from BBC News. |
| 0:43.5 | Life is not safe in Ukraine. |
| 0:45.5 | Nor are in Ukraine. |
| 0:46.4 | We've had three years of bloody conflict now. |
| 0:48.4 | We need to get to that lasting peace. |
| 0:50.5 | We hope we can finish this war this year. |
| 0:53.6 | President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker. |
| 0:57.7 | Biden will just enemy. Trump is a rival. |
| 1:00.5 | Ukrainians will pay lives for this decision. |
| 1:02.7 | You're gambling with World War III. |
| 1:05.8 | Hello, this is Lucy Hawkins in the Ukrainecast studio. |
| 1:08.7 | And this is Vitaly Shubchenko, also in the Ukraine cast studio. And I is Vitaly Shubchenko also in the Ukraine |
| 1:11.2 | cast studio. And I'm Liz Doucette in our makeshift Riyadh studio. And Liz, why are you in Riyadh? Well, |
... |
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