Ukraine will be represented in peace talks in Istanbul by its Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Thursday.
The announcement comes as uncertainty continues over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend peace talks in Turkey, after the leader originally proposed May 15 for talks.
“The Russian Federation said in the media that Putin is ready for direct negotiations. I really responded immediately. He named a date - I said I would be there on that date. Then other information appeared, that it’s not yet certain,” Ukrainian Zelensky said from Turkey on Thursday, according to Ukrinform.
After nearly a week of refusing to confirm whether Putin would attend the talks, the Kremlin published a list late last night of attending delegates that did not include the president.
Instead, the Russian delegation will be headed by Putin’s presidential aide, Vladimir Medinsky.
On Sunday, Zelensky had agreed to attend the talks, seemingly under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” the Ukrainian leader posted on X on Sunday.
“They don’t want to end the war, but we hope they will at least demonstrate something during the meeting,” Zelensky stated in Ankara after the Kremlin’s announcement of the lower-level delegation, according to Ukrinform.
Trump, currently on a separate Middle East tour, hinted at the possibility of attending the talks at a press conference on Wednesday
“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” the US president said to a BBC reporter on Air Force One.
Upon the news that Putin would not be in attendance, Trump said he was “not disappointed” by the low-level delegation sent to Turkey, although he had previously speculated that Putin may attend.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also in Turkey, in the coastal city of Antalya, for a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.
American negotiators have become increasingly frustrated with their inability to negotiate peace in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
It is too early to tell whether the Thursday meetings in Istanbul will produce any clear progress towards a ceasefire.
While the two sides meet in Istanbul this week, Russia’s military build-up indicates that Moscow is preparing for a major summer offensive.
Russia and Ukraine last met for peace talks in Turkey in 2022, but these talks collapsed after the revelations of massacres at Bucha and Russia’s retreat from northern Ukraine.