Ukraine’s Zelensky sends delegation for Russia talks after Putin no-show
Planned Ukraine peace talks in Turkey have spiralled into confusion, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates landing in different cities and casting doubt on whether they’ll meet at all.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had little hope that Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul would produce a peace breakthrough after the two sides traded insults during a tense buildup to negotiations.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin decided against going to Istanbul and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky sent the country’s defence minister but it was unclear what kind of talks would be held between the rivals who have been at war for more than three years.
Turkish officials said that “trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are on the agenda” for Friday and there would be talks between US, Ukrainian and Turkish officials.
But Rubio told reporters in Turkey “I want to be frank... we don’t have high expectations of what will happen”.
US President Donald Trump also appeared to concede that progress on ending the war was unlikely until he could meet Putin.
Zelensky said that Russia was “not serious” about ending the war.
“Unfortunately, they are not taking the real negotiations very seriously,” Zelensky told reporters after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Out of respect” for Erdogan and Trump, Zelensky said he would send a delegation led by Defence Minister Rusten Umerov to the Istanbul talks.
As of now, the Russian side will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide to Putin and ex-culture minister who was involved in 2022 negotiations.
Mr Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov — who had all been rumoured as top negotiators after leading previous talks with the United States — were not named in the delegation.
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TRUMP SAYS HE KNOWS WHY PUTIN SKIPPED TRUCE MEETING
It comes as US President Trump said he wasn’t at all surprised Russian President Vladimir Putin was snubbing peace-talks with Ukraine this week, saying “Why would he go if I’m not going?”
Mr Trump, who had pushed for Mr Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey later on Thursday, brushed off the Russian leader’s decision to skip the high-stake talks.
“I wasn’t planning to go. I would go. But I wasn’t planning to go. And I said I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go, and that turned out to be right,” Mr Trump told reporters in Qatar following a business roundtable.
“I actually said, ‘Why would he go if I’m not going?’”
Still, the commander-in-chief floated the idea of traveling to Istanbul if enough progress was made between Kyiv and Moscow.
“If something happened I would go on Friday if it was appropriate,” Mr Trump added. He noted, too, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already there representing the US.
Mr Putin himself proposed direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv at the weekend, a counter-offer after Ukraine and Europe called for a 30-day full and unconditional ceasefire.
“I don’t know that he (Putin) would be there if I’m not there,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar.
“I know he would like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that,” he said.
UKRAINIAN MAN CHARGED OVER FIRES AT UK PM’S OFFICE
A 21-year-old man has been charged with three counts of arson for fires that targeted two properties and a car linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Metropolitan Police force said Roman Lavrynovych was charged with arson with intent to endanger life.
The charges are linked to three incidents over the past week – a car fire on May 8, a fire Monday at Starmer’s private home that damaged the door of the house, and a fire Sunday outside a north London house converted into apartments connected to the UK leader. No injuries were reported from any of the fires.
Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, is due to appear in court on Friday local time. After he was arrested, Lavrynovych has remained in custody after warrants of further detention were obtained, the police said in a statement.
Starmer moved with his family to the prime minister’s official Downing Street residence after taking office in July.
Earlier this week, Starmer said the recent arson attacks represented “an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for.”
EU TO TARGET RUSSIA’S ‘SHADOW FLEET’
The EU on Wednesday approved a fresh package of sanctions on Russia, clamping down on its “shadow” oil fleet, as Europe threatens further punishment if Moscow does not agree to a Ukraine truce.
The new measures against the Kremlin – the 17th round of sanctions from the EU since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine – were in the pipeline before European leaders issued their latest ultimatum to Moscow over US-led peace efforts.
Diplomats representing the EU’s 27-member states approved the package at a meeting in Brussels, according to the Polish presidency of the bloc.
The package – set to be formally adopted on Tuesday – includes blacklisting some 200 oil tankers used to circumvent curbs on Russian oil exports.
Companies in countries – including Vietnam, Serbia and Turkey – accused of helping supply goods to the Russian military are also set to face restrictions.
Dozens of Russian officials are to be added to the nearly 2400 people and entities already facing visa bans and asset freezes.
The package also brings sanctions on Russian individuals over cyberattacks, human rights abuses and sabotage in Europe.
Officials admit that the latest round of sanctions against Moscow are relatively limited compared to previous packages as the EU finds it more difficult to agree on targets.
Further to these measures, EU leaders have threatened Russia with “massive sanctions” if it doesn’t agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by the United States.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Russia on Tuesday that it would face additional European sanctions if there was no “real progress” this week towards peace in Ukraine.
Merz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a Ukraine ceasefire and peace with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump has said he could attend talks in Turkey if Putin and Zelensky sit down, but so far there has been no indication from the Kremlin that Putin will attend.
TRUMP’S SURPRISE MOVE OVER UKRAINE PEACE TALKS
US President Donald Trump says Secretary of State Marco Rubio will represent him at Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, after suggesting he might go himself to try to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
Mr Trump announced Mr Rubio would make the trip during a speech to Saudi leaders and businessmen on the first day of his three-country tour of the Middle East.
“Talks are being held in Turkey later this week — probably on Thursday, and they could produce some pretty good results. Our people are going to be going there, Marco is going to be going there, others are going to be going, and we’ll see if we can get it done,” Mr Trump said.
It came after Mr Trump told reporters at the White House that “I would fly there if I thought it would be helpful,” but there were no indications that preparations were being made for a side trip to Turkey.
ZELENKSY WANTS TO MEET PUTIN ‘PERSONALLY’
Raising the stakes after a weekend of intense diplomacy, Mr Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Mr Putin in Turkey “personally”.
“I have openly expressed my readiness to meet,” the Ukrainian leader said on Monday.
When asked whom Russia would send to Istanbul, the Kremlin declined to comment. “We are focused on a serious search for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without elaborating.
Mr Peskov had earlier criticised European countries for pressuring Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire ahead of the proposed talks.
“The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia. It is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a language,” Mr Peskov told journalists.
Russia fired more than 100 drones at eastern Ukraine overnight, killing one person and wounding six, as well as damaging railway infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials said.
Mr Putin has said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the “root causes” of the conflict, and did not “exclude” a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul.
Russia’s references to the “root causes” of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion.
They include pledges to “de-Nazify” and de-militarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country’s east and push back against NATO expansion.
Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia’s invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.
WARNING THAT ‘CLOCK IS TICKING’
Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.
Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers’ bodies.
EU leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, have welcomed the prospect of direct talks, but pressed Russia to agree to a ceasefire first.
Germany warned the “clock is ticking” for Russia to agree by the end of Monday to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face potential new sanctions.
Russia’s key ally China on Monday called for a “binding peace agreement” that was “acceptable to all parties”.
Moscow and Kyiv have not held face-to-face negotiations since March 2022, shortly after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” Mr Zelensky said in a post on X.
“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Turkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” he added.
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Originally published as Ukraine’s Zelensky sends delegation for Russia talks after Putin no-show