Ankara, May 15: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sent a team led by his defense minister to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with a Russian delegation since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The move was made after Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away from a face-to-face meeting with him in Turkiye, which the Ukrainian leader had proposed in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers last weekend.
Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian side would be headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and its aim is “to attempt at least the first steps toward de-escalation, the first steps toward ending the war – namely, a ceasefire.”
Putin’s absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in peace efforts that were given a push in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders amid the intense maneuvering.
It also raised the prospect of intensified international sanctions on Russia that have been threatened by the West.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Zelenskyy with an honor guard at the presidential palace in Ankara before the two held talks.
The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the UN.
At least five civilians were killed and 29 injured in the past day, according to authorities in five eastern regions of Ukraine where Russia’s army is trying to advance. (AP)
