ISTANBUL, May 15: A Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, while a Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior government figures landed in Ankara.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not part of the Moscow delegation, prompting criticism from Western officials that the Kremlin isn’t serious about the peace effort.
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will lead the Russian team, which will also include three other senior officials. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkiye to talk about ending the more than three-year war. Zelenskyy said he would travel to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and wait for Putin.
The Ukrainian delegation includes Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak.
Details about whether, when, and where the Ukrainian delegation might meet their Russian counterparts are still unclear but is expected to be clarified after Zelenskyy and Erdogan meet. The talks were to take place in a presidential office on the Bosporus.
Moscow offered talks instead of a ceasefire, and Putin effectively rejected the proposal, offering direct talks between Russia and Ukraine instead. The Kremlin billed Thursday’s talks as a “restart” of peace negotiations that were held in Istanbul in the first weeks of the war in 2022 but quickly fell apart. The US and Western European leaders have threatened Russia with further sanctions if there is no progress in halting the fighting.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkiye this week. Trump had pressed for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul, but brushed off Putin’s decision to not participate. The push for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin comes amid negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Putin was first to propose restarting direct peace talks with Ukraine in Turkiye, while Zelenskyy challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in person.
However, the Kremlin has said its delegation at the talks will be led by Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, and include three other officials. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskyy will only sit down with the Russian leader.
Trump has used his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.
He has urged Qatari officials to use their influence to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program. Progress has been made in the talks, but a “violent step” could be coming if a deal is not reached.
Trump will travel later on Thursday to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for the final leg of his Mideast tour, where he will visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and be hosted for a state visit by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Qasr Al Watan palace. (AP)
