Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on the afternoon of May 15. He is scheduled to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Zelensky said that the Ukrainian delegation for further negotiations is represented at the highest level: it includes Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, officials from the Presidentʼs Office, the military, and representatives of all intelligence services. The President of Ukraine also commented on the composition of the Russian delegation.
"From what we see, it looks more like a sham level. We will think about what we will do and what our steps will be after talking with President Erdogan... We must understand the level of the Russian delegation and what their mandate is, whether they are able to make [some decisions] themselves," Zelensky said.
Скриншот трансляції «Суспільне Новини» / YouTube
The day before, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin would not appear at the talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul. Russia officially approved the composition of the delegation on May 14: it included Vladimir Medinsky, Mikhail Galuzin, Ihor Kostyukov and Alexander Fomin.
Negotiations in Turkey
Volodymyr Zelensky reported on May 10 that a full ceasefire with the Russian Federation should begin on May 12 for at least 30 days. According to him, the ceasefire should be comprehensive, that is, in the air, at sea, and on land, and monitoring can be provided together with the United States.
On the night of May 11, Putin proposed resuming direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, without mentioning the 30-day ceasefire that was supposed to come into effect on May 12. Zelensky responded that he would personally wait for Putin in Turkey if Russia ceased fire.
The US President Donald Trumpʼs special envoy Steve Witkoff has offered his candidacy to mediate in possible talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey. Reuters, citing sources, reported that Trump will send Witkoff and Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to the meeting. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also be there.
Because Putin’s participation remained in question, President Zelensky saw no point in going to Istanbul at all and wanted to abandon the talks, The Washington Post reports. American and European officials convinced him not to do so.
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