Zelenskyy: Ukraine to send delegation to Istanbul for talks with Russians

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is sending a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul to take part in talks with the Russian side on a possible ceasefire.

He said this following talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a press conference on 15 May in Ankara.

The delegation will be headed by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov. According to Zelenskyy, the delegation will not be full, as the level of representation from Russia is low.

«After we understood the level of the Russian delegation, we see that they are not taking the negotiations very seriously. We do not see any decision-makers among those present. Although this was a proposal by «Russian» for direct negotiations. But nevertheless, despite the rather low level of the Russian delegation, but out of respect for President Trump, the high level of the Turkish delegation and President Erdogan, and still wanting to try to achieve the first steps of de-escalation, I decided to send our delegation to Istanbul. But not all of them,» Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Today, Ukraine was represented in Turkey by the Minister of Defence, the Head of the Presidential Office, the Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and representatives of all intelligence agencies. Turkey met Ukraine at the same, highest level.

According to Zelenskyy, the meeting may take place on Thursday or Friday. In addition to talks with the Russian side, meetings with American representatives and the Turkish side are also planned.

The President added that he had not personally received any signals from Donald Trump about his possible presence at the talks if Putin arrives.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the process of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia would not move forward until he personally meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, Donald Trump also commented on Putin's absence at the talks in Turkey, saying that it was expected: Putin had no reason to go if Trump was not there.

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».