Moscow blames Ukraine for «show» around talks, Kyiv responds: It's a disregard for peace

The peace talks between Ukraine and Russia scheduled for Istanbul have been postponed to the afternoon.

This was announced by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariia Zakharova, who said that the initiative belonged to the Turkish side. At the same time, she accused Kyiv of making «contradictory statements» and attempts «to make a show» around the meeting, while Moscow is allegedly ready to «a serious conversation» about «eliminating the root causes of the conflict».

Kyiv reacted critically. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said that Russia's actions showed disregard for its partners and the peace process itself. He stressed that Ukraine is not an obstacle to peace, but that Russia demonstrates a blatant disregard for peace initiatives.

«This is a critical week for our efforts. And we are also approaching the point where the world must increase pressure on the Russian aggressor to stop the war,» said Andrii Sybiha.

He also noted that the Ukrainian delegation to Turkey is headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It also includes the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey

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. He later stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.

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

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he had no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the talks. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of his own participation in the event.

Late in the evening of 14 May, the Kremlin approved the official list of Russian representatives to participate in peace talks with Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the delegates.

On the day of the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Ankara in full force and was ready for real solutions to achieve a just peace. Instead, the composition of the Russian delegation is still unknown and, according to the head of state, resembles «a prop level».