Zelenskyy Disappointed Putin Doesn't Want To Face Him In Istanbul, Considers The Russian Envoy A Low Level

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/PHOTO via X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukraine he would decide the next steps in talks with Russia after his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Zelenskyyy told reporters at Ankaraa airport the level of the Russian delegation sent to Turkey for talks was a low level and had an unclear mandate. Russian President Vladimir Putin chose not to attend Istanbul.

"The rate of the Russian delegation was not officially known to me, but from what we saw, it appeared more like a decoration level," Zelenskyy said.

"We need to understand what the level of the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have, and whether they can make any decisions," the Ukrainian president added.

Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation included his foreign ministers, military and intelligence chiefs, as well as senior officials from his office.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his officials and deputy ministers to hold peace negotiations with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday.

Putin rejected Kyiv's challenge to come directly there to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin previously proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, while Zelenskyy said he would wait for the Kremlin leader.

But after making the world wonder for days about Putin's plans, the Kremlin on Wednesday night appointed delegates who did not include the president.

It is not clear how Ukraine will respond to this condition. Negotiations if they occur in Istanbul are deemed not to produce a main agreement, because the main characters who are awaited do not come.

Reported by Reuters on Thursday, May 15, there was confusion in the Turkish city, where journalists gathered near the Dolmabahce palace office that Russia had designated as a place of conversation. Turkish officials did not provide information about the time or location.

Russian news agency TASS said talks would begin at 07.00, but a Ukrainian official denied this, saying there had been no agreement on when the talks would begin. Zelenskyy, who will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday, previously said he did not want to talk to anyone on Russia except Putin.

The Kremlin said Putin - which is also threatened with stricter European sanctions to "strangled" Russia's economy - did not respond to ultimatums.

The two sides last held face-to-face talks - also in Istanbul - in March 2022, just weeks after Putin sent his troops to Ukraine.

Both are trying to show US President Donald Trump they are serious about peace, as he urged them to end what he called "this stupid war". Washington has repeatedly threatened to stop its diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict unless there is clear progress.