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The absence of Putin throws doubts about peace talks in Turkiye, which raises concerns about intensified potential sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team led by his Minister of Defense to Istanbul for the first direct talks with a Russian delegation since the first weeks of the Russian large -scale invasion of Russia in 2022.
Zelenskyy announced this decision on Thursday after the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not intend to meet him in Turkiye, sending a junior delegation in place – a decision that the Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said “as a face gallery”.
The Ukrainian president said in a press conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, that the Russian delegation does not include “anyone who really makes decisions”, accusing Moscow of not making efforts to end the war.
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, in order to “try at least the first steps towards de-escalation, the first steps towards the end of the war-namely a cease-fire,” he said.
It was not immediately clear when the delegations would meet.
Sinem Koseoglu of Al Jazeera, reporting to the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara, said that Zelenskyy has chosen a delegation “in balance” with the Russian.
“He said that it did not bother to take the first step towards an immediate ceasefire necessary for direct peace talks,” she said.
However, “there will be no negotiations, and Zelenskyy stressed that even his delegation has no mandate to decide anything. So tomorrow, it will probably be technical talks between the two delegations,” she added.
President Trump, who had pressure for Putin and Zelenskyy to face face to face Istanbul, pushed the absence of Putin from the talks.
“Nothing will happen until Russian President Vladimir Putin and I’m meeting, ok?” Trump said on board the Air Force One just before landing in Dubai during the third stop in his trip to the Middle East. “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to leave if I’m not there.”
The absence of Putin performed the hopes of a breakthrough in the cease-fire efforts that have been pushed in recent months by the Trump administration and the leaders of Western Europe in the middle of the intense maneuver. He also raised the prospect of intensifying international sanctions against Russia that have been threatened by the West.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously welcomed Zelenskyy with an honor guard at the presidential palace in Ankara before the two who held talks.
“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” said Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan at a NATO meeting taking place separately in Turkiye. “The talks … let’s hope it will open a new chapter.”
