Putin will not go to Turkey: Kremlin announces delegation for talks with Ukraine
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- Mariia Khamitsevych
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9:05, 15 May, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, photo: AP Photo / Ng Han GuanLate in the evening of 14 May, the Kremlin approved the official list of Russian representatives to participate in peace talks with Ukraine, which are to take place on 15 May in Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the delegates.
According to the Kremlin's press service , the delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinskyi, Putin's aide who has already represented Russia in negotiations with Ukraine in 2022. The delegation also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kostiukov, and Deputy Defence Minister Aleksandr Fomin.
In addition to the official delegation, the Kremlin has appointed a group of so-called «experts», including Aleksandr Zorin (First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Information Department), Elena Podobreevskaya (Deputy Head of the Presidential Humanitarian Policy Directorate), Aleksei Polishchuk (Director of the Second Department of CIS Countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry) and Vladimir Shevtsov (Deputy Head of the International Military Cooperation Department of the Russian Ministry of Defence).
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he expects Russia to announce its representatives at the talks in Turkey, after which Ukraine will determine its further actions. However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.
He also considers the United States a possible guarantor of the agreements and suggests that the presence of US President Donald Trump could force Putin to appear at the talks. Otherwise, according to Zelenskyy, it would look like a defeat for the Russian leader.