Russia says Putin not due to attend peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey today
Putin briefs Russian delegation ahead of talkspublished at 07:45 British Summer Time
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Reporting from Istanbul
The duration of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul will depend on their progress, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells state news agency Tass.
He also says Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on preparations for the talks yesterday evening.
This was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrod, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, National Guard commander Viktor Zolotov, chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov, as well as the delegation ahead of travel to Istanbul.
Putin not on list of Russian attendees – who is?published at 07:38 British Summer Time
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Reporting from Istanbul
Image source, Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyhad challenged Vladimir Putin to come to Turkey in person, but instead hisRussian counterpart is sending a very junior delegation.
Key names include theRussian presidential adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, the deputy foreign minister,Mikhail Galuzin and the deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin – a level ofrepresentation which the Ukrainians will see as an insult.
It’s extremelyunlikely President Zelensky will meet them, but he may send a team ofnegotiators – especially given the mounting US pressure on Ukraine to talk toRussia.
Igor Kostyukov heads Russia’sMain Directorate of Intelligence – he plays a key role in the organisation of prisoner releases.
He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities” and then in 2018 forcyber-attacks and interference in the 2016 US elections that were won by DonaldTrump.
In 2020, the European Union sanctioned him for stealing German Chancellor AngelaMerkel’s emails in a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament.
A busy day in Turkey – so who is where?published at 07:18 British Summer Time
Peace talks with Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations will take place in Istanbul today – but they’re not the only high-level diplomatic events taking place in Turkey.
Russia’s presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin and deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin will attend the talks in Istanbul, north-west Turkey.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara – around 250 miles east of Istanbul – to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
And US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Antalya, in the south of the country, to meet Nato foreign ministers.
Nato chief Mark Rutte, Latvia’s foreign minister, Estonia’s foreign minister and Germany’s foreign minister are in attendance.
Nato chief ‘cautiously optimistic’ for peace talks breakthroughpublished at 07:06 British Summer Time
Image source, PPO/Reuters
Nato chief Mark Rutte says he is “cautiously optimistic” for a breakthrough in Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
Rutte adds: “It is now up to the Russians to make sure they take the next steps.”
Yesterday, Nato’s secretary general met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Following their meeting, he said “there is a real window of opportunity for progress towards peace”.
He also met Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.
Putin likes to keep people guessingpublished at 06:55 British Summer Time
Orla Guerin
Reporting from Istanbul
Image source, SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
President Vladimir Putin kept people guessing – as he likes to do – about whether or not he would attend the talks. But he seems set to stay away.
The Ukrainian leader, by contrast, had said he was ready to fly from Ankara to Istanbul – at a moment’s notice – if President Putin turned up but added that he would only talk to him.
“This is his war, “ Volodymyr Zelensky said, “so the negotiations should be with him”.
Direct Russia-Ukraine talks – at any level – would be the first since the months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago.
But, there’s no sign that either side is ready for major concessions.
For now, the only winner is the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faced mass protests here recently, after the jailing of his main rival.
He can now shift attention from domestic repression, to international diplomacy.
Russia says Putin won’t attend peace talks in Istanbulpublished at 06:45 British Summer Time
Matt Spivey
Live editor
Peace talks in the Ukraine-Russia war will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, today – but the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is not on the list of officials attending.
US President Donald Trump will also not be attending, according to media reports – despite hinting yesterday he would, if Putin showed up.
Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ukrainian president said he would attend the talks with Russia in Istanbul, but only if Putin was there.
Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019.
On Sunday, after Putin proposed direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”
As we wait to see who attends the talks, we’ll bring you the key developments and analysis from our teams in London, Turkey, and around the region.
