Russia will wait for Ukraine at 10am on May 16 for negotiations

According to RIA Novosti on May 16, the official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Oncü Keçeli, said that direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on May 16 are not ruled out.

"We can expect this," Keçeli told reporters when asked about the possibility of direct bilateral talks.

Earlier, a source from the Turkish Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that trilateral meetings between delegations from Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye were scheduled for May 16 in Istanbul. Negotiations between delegations from the US, Turkey and Ukraine are also planned.

Oncü Keçeli told RIA Novosti that no final decision has been made yet on the possibility of holding a four-way meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis in Istanbul on May 16.

Earlier, Turkish state news agency Anadolu quoted a source from the Turkish Foreign Ministry as saying that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the US delegation led by Foreign Minister Marco Rubido, the Russian delegation led by presidential secretary Vladimir Medinsky, and the Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will be in Istanbul on May 16.

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky told journalists that Russia will wait for the Ukrainian side, which is expected to arrive for the meeting in Istanbul at 10:00 on May 16.

"At exactly 10 a.m. we will wait for the Ukrainian side, they will come for a meeting," said Mr. Medinsky.

Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka said he expects a meeting between leaders Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in the near future.

“When the time is right, President Donald Trump will be in the same room as Russian President Vladimir Putin. I expect that will happen in the near future,” Gorka noted in an online interview with Politico.