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Latest provocation comes after Trump suggested he could join Zelensky and Putin for Istanbul summit this week
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Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of being “scared” to meet him for talks in Turkey this week to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president has warned that he will only attend the high-stakes talks if Mr Putin also attends, because only a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president can deliver peace.
This is due to the fact that “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on Mr Putin, said Mr Zelensky, adding: “If he takes the step to say he is ready for a ceasefire then it opens the way to discussing all the elements to end the war.”
“I’m not even mentioning that he is scared of direct talks with me,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that he would first meet Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks and would head to Istanbul if Mr Putin arrived there.
The fresh ultimatum comes after US president Donald Trump suggested he could join Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin in Turkey this week if the two leaders meet.
But the Kremlin has declined to comment on whether Mr Putin will travel to Turkey, saying only that “the Russian side continues to prepare for the negotiations”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is traveling to Turkey’s capital Ankara ahead of possible talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Istanbul later this week, Kyiv’s embassy in Turkey has said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky told reporters that he would first meet Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks and would then head to Istanbul if Mr Putin also arrives there.
Mr Zelensky warned on Tuesday that only face-to-face talks can bring about the ceasefire necessary for peace negotiations to begin in earnest, “because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on Mr Putin.
Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg has suggested that Thursday’s meeting in Istanbul could be “absolutely incredible” – if Vladimir Putin shows up.
“We’re hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there,” Mr Kellogg, a retired US Army general who is also reportedly due to travel to Turkey on Thursday, told Fox Business Network in an interview.
“This could be an absolutely incredible meeting,” he said. “We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk.”
Mr Trump had said on Monday he would fly to Istanbul for the meeting if necessary. He is in the Middle East region this week for meetings with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Russia expects direct contact between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations during talks in Istanbul on Thursday, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
His claims, reported by Russian state news agency Tass, come after he was reported to have claimed that Moscow is ready for serious talks on Ukraine but doubts Kyiv is ready for negotiation.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will attend the talks in Istanbul if Vladimir Putin is also present – but the Kremlin has so far declined to comment when asked whether the Russian president will attend.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has urged Brazil to help persuade Vladimir Putin to attend this week’s talks in Istanbul and to support Kyiv’s push for a 30-day ceasefire.
In a call with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira, Mr Sybiha said he had “reaffirmed President Zelensky’s readiness to meet with Putin in Turkiye and called on Brazil to use its authoritative voice in its dialogue with Russia to make this direct highest-level meeting happen”.
Ukraine has repeated its insistence that a ceasefire should come before peace talks can begin in earnest, as Volodymyr Zelensky challenges Vladimir Putin to meet him face-to-face in Turkey this week.
“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia, but a ceasefire must come first,” Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said on Tuesday.
Negotiations are impossible while “the Ukrainian people are under attack by Russian missiles and drones around the clock”, Mr Yermak said in a video address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2025.
European Council president António Costa has criticised Serbia’s populist president Aleksandar Vucic’s trip to Russia’s Victory Day ceremonies last week – but said that he received assurances that the Balkan nation nonetheless will remain on the path toward EU accession.
Mr Costa said in Belgrade – at the start of his tour of six Western Balkan membership hopefuls – that “a lot of people asked me not to come” to Serbia. But he said that he decided to come, and that he wanted to “clarify” Mr Vucic’s visit to Moscow last week.
Mr Vucic “explained to me it was a moment to celebrate an event from the past”, he said.
“We cannot rewrite the history, and fully understand that Serbia celebrates liberation” by Soviet troops, Mr Costa said, before referring to the Russia-Ukraine war. “But we cannot celebrate the liberation 80 years ago and don’t condemn an invasion of another country today.”
Now, Mr Costa said, “we can reaffirm, and it’s important to hear from him (Vucic) to publicly reaffirm, that he is fully committed with the European Union and with the accession path.”
Ivana Bzganovic reports:
Donald Trump’s senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul for potential talks on Thursday on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the plans have told Reuters.
However, the news agency cited a senior US official as saying it was unclear whether anyone from Moscow would show up, and that Washington does not expect an announcement about Russia’s plans until early on Thursday morning.
US officials are hoping Russia will agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, the senior US official said, adding that Kyiv has already agreed to abide by such a deal. The ceasefire is also backed by the Europeans, the official said.
While Mr Kellogg, a retired US general, was reported in March to have been removed from high-level peace talks at the request of the Kremlin, Mr Witkoff – a former real estate mogul – has repeatedly alarmed Kyiv’s allies with his proximity to the Kremlin, having met with Mr Putin multiple times in recent months in Moscow.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he wants to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire face-to-face with Vladimir Putin at this week’s talks in Istanbul because only the Russian leader could enact such a pause.
Accusing Putin of being “scared” of meeting him, Mr Zelensky said he expects “strong sanctions” from the US and European Union if the talks do not take place – warning that a failed meeting would show that Russia was not ready for diplomacy.
Mr Zelensky told reporters that because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on Mr Putin, the only way to secure a ceasefire and an end to the war was through direct talks with him.
“If he takes the step to say he is ready for a ceasefire then it opens the way to discussing all the elements to end the war,” he said.
“I’m not even mentioning that he is scared of direct talks with me,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that he will first meet Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara for talks and would head to Istanbul if Mr Putin arrived there.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had invited Donald Trump to Thursday’s meeting but had yet to confirm his attendance. Mr Trump offered on Monday to join the prospective talks while he was travelling in the region.
The Ukrainian leader also said China had signalled it supported a 30-day ceasefire, which Mr Zelensky says is necessary before any peace talks can happen.
Vladimir Putin is “prevaricating” and “obfuscating” on peace talks with Ukraine, the UK’s foreign secretary David Lammy has said.
Speaking in the Commons, Tory MP and former foreign secretary James Cleverly asked Mr Lammy what steps the UK was taking to ensure that Donald Trump remains “committed to defending territorial integrity”, and to ensure the White House understands that allowing Mr Putin to “prosper” in Ukraine will embolden future invasions.
Mr Lammy replied: “[Mr Cleverly] will have seen that the prime minister was with President Zelensky and other European partners, he will have noted that they engaged with President Trump.
“We welcome the desire to get an enduring peace but there must be a ceasefire in order to engage in those talks, it seems to me.
“And it is Putin that is prevaricating, it is Putin that is obfuscating, and we must call that out with our long experience of scrutinising that particular individual.”
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Putin ‘scared’ to meet him face-to-face in high stakes Turkey talks – The Independent
