Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of sending a “dummy delegation” to peace talks in Istanbul, after Putin failed to show up.
The Ukrainian president described the Russian negotiators as low ranking, and said their mandate was unclear.
In a sharp response, Russia described Mr Zelensky as a “clown” and a “loser.”
The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, the country’s former culture minister and Kremlin aide. He is joined by Mikhail Galuzin, the deputy foreign minister, Igor Kostyukov, the director of the GRU Russian military intelligence agency and Alexander Fomin, the deputy defence minister
“From what we’ve seen they look like dummies,” the Ukrainian leader told reporters on the ground. Other reports have translated his words as “stand-in props.”
“We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions.”
Mr Zelenksy said he sent a delegation of the “highest level”, including his foreign minister, military and intelligence chiefs, and also senior officials from his office “in order to make any decisions that can lead to just peace.”
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded from Moscow, saying: “Who uses the word ‘dummy’? A clown? A loser? Someone with no education whatsoever.”
Talks were supposed to start this morning, but have been pushed back until after lunchtime.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said that that a potential meeting between the US and Russian presidents did not directly depend on progress regarding a Ukraine peace deal.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations may hold direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday afternoon.
Donald Trump has signalled he could travel to the city on Friday if meaningful progress is made. Volodymyr Zelensky is in Ankara, where he said he is waiting for Putin.
Russia’s foreign minister called Volodymyr Zelensky “pathetic” for demanding that Vladimir Putin attend peace talks in Istanbul that the Russian president proposed himself.
“At first Zelensky made some kind of statements that demanded Putin come personally. Well, a pathetic person,” Sergei Lavrov said in a televised address to diplomats in Moscow.
Russia called Volodymyr Zelensky a “clown” and a “loser” after the Ukrainian leader slammed the officials Moscow sent to Turkey for talks as a “dummy delegation”.
“Who uses the word ‘dummy’? A clown? A loser? Someone with no education whatsoever,” Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokesman, said in Moscow.
The status of the talks and whether they will still go ahead is unclear.
After landing in the capital of Ankara, Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the Russian delegation dispatched to Istanbul, calling them “stand-in props”.
“Officially, I’m not aware of the Russian’s level [of representation]. But from what we’ve seen they look like stand-in props,” the Ukrainian leader told reporters on the tarmac.
Moscow had earlier confirmed Vladimir Putin would not attend the high-level talks. Mr Zelensky said the Russian delegation sent in his place was merely “decorative”.
Sources on the ground in Istanbul say the initial meetings have been pushed back until after lunch, as Volodymyr Zelensky meets Turkey’s Erdogan in Ankara.
The American delegation are not expected to arrive until tomorrow, with Marco Rubio, the state secretary, currently attending a meeting of Nato ministers in Antalya.
Russia’s foreign ministry has confirmed the delay, saying that “on the initiative of the Turkish side”, the talks would take place “in the second half” of Thursday
Ukraine has not given a time for the highly-anticipated negotiations.
Putin is not going to attend peace talks in Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
It follows the Kremlin late on Wednesday releasing a list of names of its delegation, which did not include the Russian president, that sparked Donald Trump to abandon his plans to travel to Istanbul.
What could have been a historic day has been plunged into chaos.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has flown to the Turkish capital of Ankara.
In Istanbul, the city due to host the peace talks, the Russians claim they will meet the Ukrainians at the Dolmabache Palace.
This has been ostensibly denied by officials in Kyiv.
Despite this, a media scrum has built up in anticipation for the arrival of the delegations.
One Turkish official told the Telegraph that there was a quiet sense of optimism that Mr Zelensky and Putin would meet.
“Anything can happen in this world,” they smirked.
Donald Trump, who is still on his tour of the Middle East, has once again flirted with jetting into Istanbul, claiming Putin will only travel if he attends the talks.
Germany has low expectations of a breakthrough in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, but is holding onto hopes according to a senior MP from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party.
Norbert Roettgen, a senior Christian Democrats [CDU] MP, said it was hard to be optimistic about the latest round of talks as Berlin suspects Russia just wants to continue the war.
“You must always have hope, but here there is not justified hope because [Vladimir] Putin wants to continue this war,” he told Politico Berlin.
Johann Wadephul, the new German foreign minister, is also in Istanbul today to take part in a Nato meeting.
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