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Zelensky says he will fly to Istanbul at a moment’s notice if Putin does show up
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The Kremlin will reveal tonight whether Vladimir Putin will agree to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky face-to-face in Istanbul on Thursday, a Russian lawmaker has claimed.
Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow will meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first face-to-face talks between the two sides since March 2022.
Just as the Kremlin confirmed Russian attendance on Wednesday, lawmaker Leonid Slutsky revealed that the make-up of Russia’s delegation would be made public on Wednesday evening.
“About Istanbul, I won’t say anything, you’ll know everything in the evening,” Mr Slutsky, who leads Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party, told the SHOT Telegram channel in an interview.
“If we really exchange everyone for everyone (prisoners of war) – this is a question that can be considered,” he said.
Mr Zelensky will meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and said he will fly on to Istanbul at a moment’s notice if Mr Putin does show up.
“If Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point [showing] that he does not want to end the war. Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies,” he said.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday the West must not allow itself to be divided on Ukraine, in his first major speech to parliament since becoming chancellor last week.
The West must not accept a dictated peace in Ukraine or a submission to the facts achieved on the ground by Russia’s military, he said, adding that he is working to ensure unity between European and US partners on how to end the war.
“We hope and are working hard to ensure that this clear stance is upheld not only throughout Europe, but also by our American partners,” Mr Merz said.
Poland has uncovered a plot which it says could be an attempt to interfere in its presidential election campaign.
“The NASK Disinformation Analysis Center has identified political ads on the Facebook platform that may be financed from abroad. The materials were displayed in Poland,” NASK, the national research institute dealing with cybersecurity, said in a statement.
The first round of the election takes place on Sunday, pitting liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a senior member of the ruling Civic Platform party, against historian Karol Nawrocki, who runs Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, and far-right Slawomir Mentzen.
“The advertising accounts involved in the campaign spent more on political materials in the last 7 days than any election committee,” NASK added, but it did not say which country the financing might have come from.
Poland has previously said that its role as a hub for aid to Ukraine makes it a prime target for Russian espionage, sabotage and cyberattacks. Russia has denied the allegations.
Kyiv will decide on its next steps for peace talks in Turkey once there is clarity on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s participation, a Ukrainian diplomatic source has said.
“Everything will depend on whether Putin is scared of coming to Istanbul or not. Based on his response, the Ukrainian leadership will decide on the next steps,” the source told Reuters.
Volodymyr Zelensky has thrown down the gauntlet – and is calling Vladimir Putin’s bluff – by announcing he will indeed be in Turkey on Thursday for direct talks on a ceasefire.
To add further intrigue to what is already extraordinary encounter, if it happens at all, Donald Trump has now suggested he may fly into Tukey as well, “if it would be helpful”.
Over the weekend, Putin effectively rejected the Ukrainian president’s call for 30-day unconditional truce, which is backed by Sir Keir Starmer, the leaders of France, Germany and Poland (who were all in Ukraine) as well as members of the 31-country “coalition of the willing”.
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:
Russian president Vladimir Putin has been invited to visit Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
The dates of the trip have not yet been agreed, he added.
Moscow and Tehran signed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement in January, the two countries have supplied each other with weapons, and Russia has defended what it says is Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy.
“Indeed, President Putin has an invitation to pay an official or working visit to Iran. The dates have not yet been agreed. As soon as they are agreed, we will inform you,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about a possible visit.
“We highly value our partnership with this country and we highly value the depth of our relationship in a wide variety of areas.”
The last time Putin visited Iran was in 2022, months after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
Russian forces took control of the town of Mykhailivka, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the RIA state news agency cited the Defence Ministry as saying on Wednesday.
The Independent could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
The Kremlin has hit out at French president Emmanuel Macron’s claim that Paris could deploy nuclear-armed warplanes in other European countries.
“The Americans have the bombs on planes in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey,” Mr Macron told France’s TF1 television on Tuesday.
“We are ready to open this discussion. I will define the framework in a very specific way in the weeks and months to come,” he said.
This move will not enhance Europe’s “security, predictability and stability”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Right now, the entire system of strategic stability and security is in a deplorable state for obvious reasons,” Peskov said.
Macron first floated the idea of extending the protection of France’s nuclear arsenal to other European countries in March.
Donald Trump has said he does not know whether Vladimir Putin will turn up to direct talks between a Ukrainian and Russian delegation in Turkey.
Mr Trump was speaking to media during a tour of the Middle East, where he today met Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“He’d like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. … I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out,” he told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar. He has said he may visit Turkey for the talks as part of his trip to the Middle East this week.
Mr Zelensky has said that if the Russian president travels to Istanbul, he will join for face-to-face talks.
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Ukraine war latest: Kremlin to reveal imminently if Putin will dodge peace talks – The Independent
