Ankara (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On May 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Turkey in anticipation of possible ceasefire discussions with Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the talks.
Zelensky’s plane has touched down at Ankara airport, where he will first discuss matters with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital of Turkey. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicates that Putin will not participate in the peace talks in Turkey.
Will Trump join Ukraine talks if progress is made?
US President Donald Trump mentioned that he may visit Turkey on Friday if today’s peace talks yield positive results.
During a news conference in Qatar, Trump responded to a question about Putin, stating:
“Why would he go if I’m not going? Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to. I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go.”
Is Russia’s delegation empowered to make real decisions?
While addressing reporters at the airport, Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian delegation is of the “highest level,” including Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, members of the military and the Presidential Office, and heads of “all intelligence agencies.”
A Russian delegation has also arrived to meet with Ukrainian representatives for peace talks in Istanbul — without Putin. The Kremlin has ruled out Putin’s trip to Turkey, revealing that the negotiations will instead be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
“We need to understand what the level of the Russian delegation is, what their mandate is, and whether they are capable of making decisions on their own,” Zelensky said after arriving in Ankara. “Because we all know who makes decisions in Russia,” he also said, saying Moscow appears to have sent a “sham” delegation.
What other people are visiting Turkey?
As reported by Kyiv Independent, Currently, no extra meetings have been officially scheduled, but delegates from Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia are also coming to Turkey.
On May 14, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Turkey and met with Sybiha in Antalya. Sybiha also held discussions with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Turkey’s Hakan Fidan. On May 16, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is anticipated to accompany Rubio to Istanbul for discussions focused on Ukraine.
On May 14, the Kremlin announced its list of delegates. Besides Medinsky, Russia will also send Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Military Intelligence Director Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, will both be absent.
