Special Representatives Vitkoff and Kellogg to travel to Istanbul for talks between Ukraine and Russia

US President Donald Trump will send special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to Turkey for talks.

This was reported by Reuters.

According to the publication's sources, the visit may be related to talks on possible ways to end the war. It is not yet known whether Trump himself will attend the meeting.

At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also travelling to Turkey. He will take part in an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers. It is expected that the war in Ukraine will also be one of the key topics at the event.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he could not yet name the names of the Russian representatives who would take part in the peace talks with Ukraine scheduled for 15 May in Istanbul.

As a reminder, on 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his desire to resume direct talks with Ukraine, which were suspended at the end of 2022. He also said that he planned to address Turkish President Recep Erdogan with a proposal to organise the talks.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin' s proposal for direct talks, calling it a «good sign». However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that a ceasefire was needed first to really start a dialogue with Russia.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on 15 May.

US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should accept the Kremlin's offer to hold direct talks in Istanbul on 15 May: «Have that meeting, now».

Subsequently, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 May in Turkey.