Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Mr. Zelensky arrives in Türkiye despite the absence of Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend the first direct peace talks that could take place between Moscow and Kiev after three years of conflict on May 15. Instead, the Kremlin will send a team of experienced technocrats.
On May 12, Mr. Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 "without any preconditions." Late on May 14, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
Following the announcement of the Kremlin delegation, a US official said Mr Trump would not attend - days after saying he was considering the trip.
Although Mr Putin has never confirmed he will attend in person, the absence of the Russian and US presidents has dampened expectations of a major breakthrough in the war that began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged the Kremlin leader to attend talks “if he is not afraid”, in an apparent competition to show Mr Trump who wants peace more, Reuters reported.
A Ukrainian official said Mr Zelensky was on his way to Türkiye. The Kiev leader had previously said he would only take part in talks if Mr Putin was present.
Mr Trump wants the two sides to sign a 30-day ceasefire to halt Europe's biggest land war since World War II, and a Russian lawmaker said on May 14 there could also be discussions about a large-scale prisoner-of-war exchange.
Mr Zelensky supports an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Mr Putin says he first wants to start talks so that the details of such a ceasefire can be worked out.
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Mr Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to nudge them toward a peaceful resolution, said he was “always considering” secondary sanctions on Moscow if he believed it was hindering progress.
US officials have talked about possible financial sanctions as well as potential secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian oil.
A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on May 14 that Ukraine's leadership would decide on the next steps for peace talks in Türkiye once there was clarity on Mr Putin's possible participation.
The US delegation to Türkiye includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said early on May 15 that he had met with Mr Rubio to share Mr Zelensky's vision of peace and "coordinate positions in this important week".
Mr. Medinsky and Mr. Fomin, members of the Russian delegation, participated in the final round of negotiations between the two sides in the early weeks of the war.
Direct talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia last took place in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after Mr Putin launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine to root out what he described as neo-Nazism.
