Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Zelensky says he will fly to Istanbul at a moment’s notice if Putin does show up
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Donald Trump will no longer join Russia–Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul as it looks like Russian president Vladimir Putin won’t be there himself.
A US official spoke after Mr Putin announced the Russian delegation for the talks, a list that did not include the Russian leader himself. Washington’s special envoy Keith Kellogg had previously said Mr Trump would join the leaders in Istanbul if Putin would be there.
“We’re hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting,” Mr Kellog said. “We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, has said he will go to Istanbul only if Mr Putin does. “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.
The Ukrainian president is due to meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
With only a few hours to go until the start of what was slated as the first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in years – talks that Vladimir Putin himself called – it still wasn’t clear if the Russian president would actually show up.
For weeks, he has dismissed Ukraine’s proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, backed by the US and Europe, to allow both sides to start negotiations on how to end Europe’s biggest war since World War Two.
Instead, the Russian leader challenged Volodymyr Zelensky to direct talks in Istanbul “without any preconditions” on Thursday. If they go ahead, it would be the first meeting between the leaders since December 2019.
After brief initial reticence – and a few goading social media posts by Donald Trump – the Ukrainian leader called Moscow’s bluff by confirming that he will indeed attend in person.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed hope that Russia will agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine, in a phone call with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ms Meloni and Mr Erdogan spoke on Tuesday and discussed the diplomatic prospects of Volodymyr Zelensky’s scheduled visit to Turkey – which he has called for Russian president Vladimir Putin to join.
She told the Turkish president that Russia is expected to respond positively to an invitation for high-level negotiations and will agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
It was a weekend of diplomatic announcements on the war in Ukraine.
First, European leaders assembled in Kyiv on Saturday with president Volodymyr Zelensky to put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire. Then, after midnight, Mr Putin surfaced in Moscow to unveil a proposal for talks in Istanbul, Turkey.
However, with less than 24 hours to go, the Kremlin confirmed Mr Putin will not be in the delegation set to attend the talks.
After that announcement, a US official said Donald Trump, who is on a three-nation tour of the Middle East, would not attend. The US leader had said earlier that he was considering the option to participate.
While Mr Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and US presidents slashes the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022.
Here’s a look at the key events that have shaped efforts to end the war since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022:
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was on his way to Turkey late yesterday following up on his challenge to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to settle the war in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky is going to meet Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and had offered to then fly on to Istanbul to meet Putin.
A Ukrainian official said Mr Zelensky would only take part in the Istanbul talks if the Russian president attended.
In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine would decide on its approach to peace talks in Turkey once there was clarity on Mr Putin’s participation.
“The answers to all questions about this war – why it started, why it continues – all these answers are in Moscow,” Mr Zelensky said. “How the war will end depends on the world,” he said.
Mr Zelensky, along with his European allies, is calling for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Mr Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.
US president Donald Trump has recently backed the Ukrainian position, saying he wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe’s biggest land war since the Second World War.
A Russian lawmaker said yesterday there could also be discussions in Turkey about a huge prisoner of war exchange, even if the two countries’ leaders do not attend.
Russia has released the list of their delegation to direct talks with Ukraine on settling the war with Vladimir Putin notably absent.
The delegation is set to include:
Mr Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul “without any preconditions”. However, late last night, the Kremlin said Mr Putin’s name was not on the list of those attending.
US president Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to join Russia-Ukraine talks today, a US official has said.
The official spoke after Russian revealed who would be in its delegation for the talks, and the list did not include Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump had initially toyed with the idea of going to Turkey if the Russian president were to join the peace talks there in person.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ukraine war latest: Trump to skip Turkey summit after Putin backs out – The Independent
