President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he does not have to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin if the delegations can achieve a ceasefire the same day.
Thursday’s talks were initiated by Putin on Sunday in response to the West’s Saturday ceasefire ultimatum. However, Putin has sent low-level officials in his place, to the dissatisfaction of Kyiv and the West.
In a press conference after meeting his Turkish counterpart, Zelensky – who earlier called for Putin to attend the talks he’d initiated himself in person – said he can skip meeting Putin if the 30-day unconditional ceasefire can be achieved the same day.
“If an unconditional ceasefire can be achieved today at the level of technical groups, without leaders – no problem. A meeting is not necessary,” Zelensky said, according to Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is set to lead the Ukrainian delegation in the upcoming talks in Istanbul, against the Russian delegation headed by Putin aide and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky.
Zelensky said similar negotiations have taken place in the past, echoing his earlier doubt whether such talks would create tangible results without the participation of top leadership.
“Look, the issue is that this is not the first time negotiations are taking place. Negotiations have happened in various formats. You’ve seen Saudi Arabia, you’ve seen several meetings – in London, in France… Meetings on various platforms. Today – it’s Türkiye,” Zelensky said.
“It’s very complicated. You know, in Saudi Arabia, there were slightly different formats,” Zelensky added, recalling the Saudi talks in March that resulted in the Black Sea and energy ceasefires that were not observed.
Zelensky added that Ukraine will not recognize Russian control over its territories as per the Ukrainian Constitution. He said that Ukraine’s stance received backing from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Crimea is part of our state. Turkey, thank God, supports this position. It understands this. It supports the UN Charter. It supports that Crimea is Ukraine, Crimea is the Ukrainian peninsula,” Zelensky said.
“President Erdogan himself always starts a conversation with me, when we talk about the issue of Ukraine and territorial integrity, he always says: ‘I confirm to you once again, I support the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognize the temporarily occupied territories, we do not recognize them as Russian. The Crimean peninsula is Ukrainian.’ And he always supports this,” Zelensky added, according to Ukrainian outlet UNIAN.
The West had earlier called for intensified sanctions on Moscow if the latter failed to comply with the unconditional ceasefire by Monday, May 12, but later said Moscow has this week to show progress before proceeding with the sanctions.
The Kremlin has asserted that the delegation will try to address the so-called “root causes” of its invasion in Istanbul, which in past references meant a neutered Ukraine.