While Ukraine’s president stated that his defense minister would lead Kyiv’s team, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a challenge to meet directly with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Turkey on Thursday, sending a second-tier delegation instead.
Although these will be the first direct discussions between the two parties since March 2022, US President Donald Trump’s statement that no progress would be made until he met with Putin further dashed hopes of a significant breakthrough.
Zelenskiy claimed that Putin’s choice to send what he described as a “decorative” lineup instead of attending demonstrated that the Russian leader was not sincere about bringing the war to an end. Ukraine was accused by Russia of attempting “to put on a show” during the negotiations.
When the negotiations would start was unclear.
Zelenskiy stated, “We can’t be running around the world looking for Putin,” following his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
“Russia is treating me disrespectfully. This is personal disrespect—no agenda, no meeting time, and no high-level delegation. “To Trump, to Erdogan,” Zelenskiy said to reporters.
Zelenskiy declared that his team’s mission was to negotiate a ceasefire and that he himself would no longer travel to Istanbul.
Although Putin has stated that he initially wants to begin negotiations where the specifics of such a truce may be discussed, Ukraine supports an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Russia holds the upper hand on the battlefield more than three years after its full-scale invasion, and it claims Ukraine might benefit from a break in hostilities to mobilize more troops and purchase more Western weaponry.
Although no date has been established, Trump and Putin have stated for months that they are eager to meet. Trump has recently shown increased frustration that Putin might be “tapping me along” after putting a lot of pressure on Ukraine and having a confrontation with Zelenskiy in the Oval Office in February.
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