President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Istanbul to attend the direct conversations of Thursday with Ukraine, according to a directive published by the Kremlin on Wednesday night.
On the other hand, the presidential assistant Vladimir Medinsky, who directed previous rounds of failed negotiations with Ukraine in early 2022, was appointed head of the Russian delegation. The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Galuzin, the Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Morde Mord Kostyukov, head of the Russian Military Intelligence Agency (Gru) will be joined.
The order also appoints a group of expert advisors, including senior officials of the foreigners and defense and presidential administration.
Moscow had previously hesitated to confirm the delegates by the negotiations in Istanbul, which Putin announced unilaterally a duration of a surprise conference in Sunday’s early house a counterofferte to the so -called west backers.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zenskyr, challenged the Russian leader to meet him in person during the conversations, arguing that his assistance, or lack of it, would show whether Moscow was ready to negotiate in good faith.
The Kremlin directive published on Wednesday did not list Putin among the officials who were expected to participate in the negotiations, and the main spokesman Dmitry Peskov had refused to say if the president would make travel to Türkiye.
Russian officials previously told The Moscow Times that Putin did not plan to meet with Zensky at this current stage in conversations, saying that the Kremlin leader He does not see Zensky as his equal and will only accept knowing him in case of his “Public capitulation “
An unidentified Ukrainian official told Reuters on Wednesday night that Zensky was heading to Ankara, where he hears, hey, plans to meet with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Zensky has saying That would only meet with Putin in Türkiye, refusing to sit with Russian lower level officials.
After the Kremlin published its official list of delegates for the Conversations of Istanbul, a White House official told Reuters that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who currently travels in the Middle East, would also jump the conversations. Trump said before That It would be a pension on negotiations if I thought “It would be useful.”
Trump Steve Witkoff’s envoy and United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, confirmed that they will travel to Turkey on Friday by Russia-Ukraine conversations, but was not immediately clear what role they intend to play in discussions.
Thursday’s negotiations in Istanbul, if they pass, would mark the first direct meeting between Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of 2022, when La Paz spoke in the midst of the Russian demands that Ukraine is an attempt to join AFF Military.
Ukraine, in turn, refused recognize RussiaThe control over the regions of the east of Luhansk and Donetsk, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow attached in 2014. kyiv also dismissed the demands of paying the reconstruction of the terms of areas devastated by the war.
Reuters contributed reports.
A message from Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We face unprecedented challenges. The Office of the Attorney General of Russia has appointed Moscow Times as an “indifferent” organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our previous unfair labeling as a “foreign agent.”
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim that our work “discredits the decisions of Russian leadership.” We see things differently: we strive to provide precise and impartial reports about Russia.
We, the Moscow Times journalists, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly from $2. It is quick to configure and each contribution has a significant impact.
By supporting Moscow’s times, he is defending open and independent journalism against repression. Thanks for being with us.
Continuous
Are you not ready to support today?
Remember me later.
×
Remind me next month
Thank you! Your reminder is configured.
We will send an email of reminder within a month. For details about the personal data we collect and how it is used, see our privacy policy.
