Putin Sends ‘Low-Level Delegation,’ Misses Peace Opening – NATO Chief

Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to seize a chance for peace after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness for a direct meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at a press conference in Antalya, Turkey, during an informal meeting of foreign ministers from Alliance countries.

“The Russians are sending a low-level delegation and are not using the opportunity provided by President Zelensky. He said that he is ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin,” Rutte said, as quoted by Ukrinform.

Rutte emphasized that once a ceasefire is in place, NATO will be ready to support negotiations for a peace agreement, saying Ukraine is clearly ready to “play by the rules.”

“But the ball is now in Russia’s court,” he added.

The NATO chief also warned that any deal must be “durable and sustainable,” avoiding a repeat of the Minsk agreements of 2014-15, which he said were “effectively broken before the ink on which they were written was dry.”

“We cannot allow this to happen again. Peace must be durable and sustainable. This week, the ball is clearly in Russia’s court,” he said.

Earlier, Rutte had told Anadolu that a “window of opportunity” for peace had opened in Ukraine, and Turkey has a significant role to play. He said the next 10 to 14 days could be critical.

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Meanwhile, BBC Russia journalist asked Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov whether Putin might attend the talks, noting US President Donald Trump had expressed willingness to come to Turkey on Friday if needed.

Peskov replied: “We do not know how the negotiations will go. I repeat once again, our delegation is waiting for the Ukrainians, and they are not there yet. We need to wait for the negotiations to go ahead, and, of course, everyone will be ready to make every effort to ensure that they are effective.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday lashed out at Zelensky, calling him a “clown” and “failure” after he criticized Russia’s peace delegation.

Earlier in the day, Zelensky had called the Russian delegation a “sham delegation” while speaking to reporters in Ankara, noting that Moscow had sent only lower-level officials to the Istanbul talks it initiated.

Zakharova defended the group, which includes several deputy ministers but no top officials:

“He had no right to speak that way. These are distinguished people, professionals. And he is a clown, a failure, and a man with an unknown education.”

She added that talks were postponed until the afternoon at Turkey’s request.

The Istanbul meeting marks the first direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in more than three years. Expectations remain low, especially after Putin chose not to attend, sending a hardline aide instead.