ANKARA (KAAB TV) — Russian President Vladimir Putin declined an invitation to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Turkey on Thursday, opting instead to send a lower-level delegation to the planned peace talks. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine’s Defense Minister would lead Kyiv’s team.
These negotiations mark the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since March 2022. However, prospects for a breakthrough were dampened further after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that progress was unlikely without a meeting between himself and Putin.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump’s sentiment, telling reporters in the Turkish resort city of Antalya that Washington had “low expectations” for the talks set to take place in Istanbul.
The head of the Russian delegation, presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, said he expected the Ukrainian team to arrive for the start of discussions at 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Friday. “We are ready to work,” Medinsky said in a video posted on Telegram. He also noted that his team held “productive” discussions on Thursday evening with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Zelenskiy criticized Putin’s absence and the makeup of the Russian delegation, calling it a “decorative” team that signals a lack of seriousness about ending the war. Russia, in turn, accused Ukraine of trying to stage a political “show” around the talks.
“We can’t go chasing Putin around the world,” Zelenskiy said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. “This is personal disrespect — to me, to Erdogan, to Trump. No scheduled meeting, no agenda, no senior officials. I feel disrespected by Russia.”
Zelenskiy confirmed that he would not travel to Istanbul and said his delegation’s mandate was strictly to negotiate a ceasefire.
A decree issued by Zelenskiy named Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as head of Ukraine’s delegation. Other members include deputy heads of Ukraine’s intelligence services, the deputy chief of the general staff, and the deputy foreign minister.