15 May 2025
War rivals Ukraine and Russia are set to go into their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin not included on the list of attendees.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had challenged Putin to meet him in person in Istanbul on Thursday, but the Russian delegation names only a lower-level team.
Putin’s absence would diminish the importance of the first direct negotiations since a failed effort in the weeks after Russia’s 2022 military attack.
Tens of thousands have been killed since the offensive started in February 2022. Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory in what is one of Europe’s worst conflicts since World War 2.
Putin had proposed holding talks on May 15 in Istanbul as a counter-offer after Ukraine and European nations last week called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
Zelenskyy agreed, but said this week that if Putin did not attend himself, it would signal he was not genuinely interested in peace.
“This is his war… Therefore, the negotiations should be with him,” Zelensky said.
The Kremlin delegation is set to be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide to Putin and ex-culture minister who was involved in the 2022 negotiations.
Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov — who had all been rumoured as top negotiators after leading previous talks with the United States — were not named in the Kremlin’s delegation list.
5 hours ago
War rivals Ukraine and Russia are set to go into their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin not included on the list of attendees.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had challenged Putin to meet him in person in Istanbul on Thursday, but the Russian delegation names only a lower-level team.
Putin’s absence would diminish the importance of the first direct negotiations since a failed effort in the weeks after Russia’s 2022 military attack.
Tens of thousands have been killed since the offensive started in February 2022. Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory in what is one of Europe’s worst conflicts since World War 2.
Putin had proposed holding talks on May 15 in Istanbul as a counter-offer after Ukraine and European nations last week called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
Zelenskyy agreed, but said this week that if Putin did not attend himself, it would signal he was not genuinely interested in peace.
“This is his war… Therefore, the negotiations should be with him,” Zelensky said.
The Kremlin delegation is set to be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide to Putin and ex-culture minister who was involved in the 2022 negotiations.
Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov — who had all been rumoured as top negotiators after leading previous talks with the United States — were not named in the Kremlin’s delegation list.
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Medinsky is seen as influential in advancing Russia’s historical claims over Ukrainian territory.
The other three negotiators were named as Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin and Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
European leaders have said new sanctions will be quickly imposed on Russia if the Istanbul talks do not produce results.
On the eve of the talks, Zelenskyy said he would decide Ukraine’s next “steps” based on who represents Moscow.
“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations, and we are not afraid of meetings. Tomorrow “in Türkiye,” Zelensky said. “I am waiting to see who will arrive from Russia. Then I will decide what steps Ukraine should take.”
Russia insists the talks address what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict, including the “denazification” and demilitarisation of Ukraine.
Source trtworld
