Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says he is sending a delegation to Istanbul for peace talks with Russia
ANKARA Turkey AP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained Thursday he is sending a squad headed by his defense minister to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with a Russian delegation since the early weeks of Moscow s full-scale invasion in Zelenskyy made the move after Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away from a face-to-face meeting with him in Turkey that the Ukrainian leader had proposed in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers last weekend Zelenskyy explained a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara the Russian delegation doesn t include anyone who literally makes decisions accusing Moscow of not taking efforts to end the war seriously But he explained that to demonstrate to U S President Donald Trump that Ukraine is seeking an end to the conflict he had decided to send functionaries from Ankara to Istanbul more than kilometers almost miles away for their first direct talks since March following Russia s full-scale invasion of its neighbor the previous month He noted the Ukrainian side would be headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and its aim is to attempt at least the first measures toward de-escalation the first approaches toward ending the war namely a ceasefire Putin s absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in peace efforts that were given a push in newest months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders amid the intense maneuvering It also raised the prospect of intensified international sanctions on Russia that have been threatened by the West Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier welcomed Zelenskyy with an honor guard at the presidential palace in Ankara before the two held talks Now after three years of immense suffering there is absolutely a window of opportunity Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated at a NATO meeting taking place separately in Turkey The talks hopefully may open a new chapter The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than Ukrainian civilians according to the U N and continues along the roughly -kilometer -mile front line Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive Ukrainian administration and Western military analysts say At least five civilians were killed and injured in the past day according to leadership in five eastern regions of Ukraine where Russia s army is trying to advance A weekend of diplomatic maneuvering The diplomatic maneuvering began over the weekend when European leaders met Zelenskyy in Kyiv and urged the Kremlin to agree to a full unconditional -day ceasefire as a first step toward peace Putin later responded by proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul Then came Zelenskyy s challenge to Putin for face-to-face talks After days of silence the Kremlin in the end responded Thursday with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Putin has no plans to voyage to Istanbul in the next insufficient days Trump noted he was not surprised that Putin was a no-show Trump had pressed for Putin and Zelenskyy to meet but brushed off Putin s apparent decision not to attend I didn t think it was achievable for Putin to go if I m not there Trump informed reporters at a meeting with business executives in Doha Qatar on the third day of his visit to the Middle East Trump noted a meeting between him and Putin was crucial to break the deadlock I don t believe anything s going to happen whether you like it or not until Putin and I get together he disclosed on Air Force One while traveling from Doha to Abu Dhabi the capital of the United Arab Emirates But we re going to have to get it solved because too countless people are dying Peskov mentioned Putin has no plans to meet with Trump in the coming days Vladimir Medinsky an aide to Putin is leading the Russian club that will also include three other senior functionaries the Kremlin reported Putin also appointed four lower-level officers as experts for the talks in Istanbul Also absent from the talks were Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin s foreign agenda advisor Yuri Ushakov both of whom represented Russia at the talks with the U S in Saudi Arabia in March The top-level Ukrainian delegation included Defense Minister Rustem Umerov Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak a Ukrainian official reported Zelenskyy will sit at the negotiating table only with Putin reported presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak Details about whether when and where the Ukrainian delegation might meet their Russian counterparts were unclear Russia declared the talks have been postponed until the afternoon at the initiative of the Turkish side Tass announced the talks were to take place in a presidential office on the Bosporus in Istanbul Putin met Wednesday evening with senior administration personnel and members of the delegation in preparation for the talks Peskov mentioned Defense Minister Andrei Belousov General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov and National Guard Council secretary Sergei Shoigu also attended Russia calls the talks a restart The Kremlin billed Thursday s talks as a restart of peace negotiations that were held in Istanbul in but rapidly fell apart Moscow accused Ukraine and the West of wanting to continue fighting while Kyiv commented Russia s demands amounted to an ultimatum rather than something both sides could agree on Russia s delegation then was also headed by Medinsky Putin s proposal came after more than three months of diplomacy kickstarted by Trump who promised during his campaign to end the devastating war swiftly though it s been hard to pull off The Trump administration in latest weeks indicated that it might walk away from the peace effort if there was no tangible progress soon Sybiha the Ukrainian foreign minister met with U S State Secretary Marco Rubio and Sen Lindsey Graham on Wednesday night in the Turkish city of Antalya which is hosting NATO foreign ministers to discuss new defense financing goals as the U S shifts its focus to precaution challenges away from Europe Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine s patronage for Trump s mediation efforts and thanked the U S for its continued involvement urging Moscow to reciprocate Ukraine s constructive efforts toward peace So far it has not Sybiha mentioned On Thursday morning Sybiha also met with other European foreign ministers including his French counterpart Jean-No l Barrot who in a post on X reiterated the call for a ceasefire and the threat of massive sanctions if Russia doesn t comply We re in a very complicated spot right now and we hope that we can find the measures forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future Rubio explained Thursday British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Putin of standing in the way of peace There was only one country that started this conflict that was Russia That was Putin There s only one country now standing in the way of peace that is Russia that is Putin he disclosed in a visit to Tirana Albania Barrot echoed that sentiment In front of Ukrainians there is an empty chair one that should have been occupied by Vladimir Putin he mentioned Vladimir Putin is dragging his feet and in all evidence does not want to enter into these peace discussions - Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels Illia Novikov and Samya Kullab in Kyiv Ukraine Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn Estonia Aamer Madhani in Dubai United Arab Emirates and Matthew Lee in Antalya Turkey contributed Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source
