Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of not taking the possible talks in Turkey on May 15 seriously enough. At a press conference, she said that Kyiv was "obviously trying to put on a show" around this meeting.
Instead, Russia, according to the official, is “tuned for serious negotiations”, the goal of which is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. Zakharova also called Volodymyr Zelensky “a clown, a loser, a person with a completely unknown education” for his words about the “fake level” of the Russian delegation in Turkey. The official was quoted by propaganda Russian media.
Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhii Tykhyi reacted to the words of the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. He emphasized that Putin did not go to the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation, but instead, insults are heard from the Kremlin against President Zelensky.
"This is not the first time that the Russian Foreign Ministry has become a laughing stock. It is also worth noting that the delegation in Turkey is not led by the Russian Foreign Ministry — their role is to bark from Moscow," wrote Heorhii Tykhyi.
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. 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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