Although Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend peace talks on the crisis in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, the Kremlin has not included his name on the list. Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential assistant, would instead lead Russia’s mission, the Kremlin said.
In the past, Zelensky had stated that if the Russian president consented, he would go to the negotiations and see Putin in person. He also promised to do all in his power to make sure the in-person meeting happened. According to media sources, US President Donald Trump will also not be present, even though he has hinted that he would if Putin were present.
On Thursday, Zelensky will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish capital, Ankara. He stated that he would only go to direct discussions with Russia in Istanbul if Putin did as well.
“I will decide what actions Ukraine should take once I see who will arrive from Russia. In his nightly video message on Wednesday, he stated, “At this point, the signals from them in the media are not convincing.”
Since December 2019, Putin and Zelensky have not had a face-to-face meeting. The most recent bilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul in March 2022, just after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
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