The talks in Istanbul were postponed to the second half of the day, at the initiative of the Turkish side, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced.
The Russian delegation in Istanbul has been instructed to “focus on long-term peace in Ukraine,” Maria Zakharova said. The Russian delegation is in Istanbul, and is ready for “serious work,” she stressed earlier.
The aim of the direct negotiations in Istanbul is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian official said.
The Russian delegation in Istanbul has all the instructions and is working within the framework clearly set by Vladimir Putin, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the TASS agency.
Putin will not participate in negotiations with Ukraine, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated, according to CNN.
There is still no exact information about the composition of the Ukrainian delegation, which is expected to hold talks with the Russian side, reports the Turkish network NTV.
The talks on Ukraine in Istanbul will be held at the same venue where they were held three years ago, a source familiar with the organization of the meeting told TASS.
About 50 journalists from around the world are waiting for the meeting between Russia and Ukraine at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
It is noted that the Russian president decided on the composition of the delegation that traveled to Istanbul on Thursday for the planned direct talks with the Ukrainian side.
It is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an advisor to Putin – who had led the delegation that held unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine in 2022, in the first months after the Russian invasion began.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, diplomats and intelligence officials will also attend.
Zelensky with Erdogan
The plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Turkey landed at Ankara airport around 12 noon. Zelensky will hold talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then make a decision on talks with Russia in Istanbul, a Ukrainian official told Reuters.
The Ukrainian president's schedule in Ankara:
13:00 Zelensky's official reception by Erdogan in Ankara
13:05 contacts
14:00 working lunch
Donald Trump is leaving open the possibility of traveling to Istanbul if there is progress in the Moscow-Kiev negotiations. I would go to the Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey on Friday if it is appropriate, the American president said.
The Ukraine-Russia meeting in Turkey got off to a bad start this morning, as the two warring sides could not even agree on when... it would start.
The talks on Ukraine in Istanbul will begin at 10 a.m. behind closed doors, the Russian news agency TASS reported this morning. A Ukrainian official responded, saying there had been no agreement on when the talks in Turkey would begin.
Andriy Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on the Telegram app that the start of the talks at 10 a.m. "was not planned and was not real."
There has been speculation this week that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday – if the Russian leader decides to show up for the talks he has proposed.
According to Interfax, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister), Andrei Belousov (Defense Minister) and Sergei Shoigu (Secretary of the Russian Security Council) held talks on Wednesday, with Russian commanders participating.
The prospect of Zelensky and Putin meeting face to face has caused great excitement, but this will not happen in the end, since Putin is not on the list of Kremlin representatives for the long-awaited talks.
The talks are unlikely to yield immediate results, and almost certainly will not produce the famous "deal" that the US president has promised since his first day back in the White House in January. However, despite any drawbacks, a direct meeting between Kiev and Moscow at any level would mark a milestone in the conflict, CNN comments.
Source: skai.gr
