Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks to the media upon his arrival at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Huseyin Hayatsever
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks in Turkey Thursday even though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier challenged him and said he was willing to sit down face-to-face with the pugilistic strongman to try to negotiate an end to the brutal Russia-Ukraine war that has raged on since the Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged Russian president Putin for face to face talks for ending the war in Ukraine . He is shown here with Turkish president Erdogan in Ankara
Although U.S President Donald Trump had hinted that he might show up if things looked promising, he has now nixed those plans, considering Putin will be a no-show:
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of technocrats.
Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday “without any preconditions.” Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.
Russian delegation “low rank”
Zelenskiy said that the level of the Russian delegation despatched to Turkey for talks was low rank and had an unclear mandate.
“The level of the Russian (delegation) is not known officially to me but from what we see, it looks more like it’s on a decorative level,” Zelenskiy said.
“We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions.”
Asked what his message to Putin would be, he said: “I’m here. I think this is a clear message.”
According to reliable sources in Moscow , Putin is concerned over being arrested and for this reason he avoids international travel and he is trying to avoid any embarrassment by Trump who may press him for a deal
News Agencies