Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, the 15th of May, that Ukraine would decide on the next steps in its talks with Russia after a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, according to Reuters.
Putin’s absence created uncertainty about whether the talks would take place at all. Russia said they would be held in Istanbul in the second half of the day, while Turkey said no meeting had yet been scheduled.
Zelenskyy told reporters at Ankara airport that the level of the Russian delegation sent to the Turkish talks was low and its mandate was unclear.
“The level of the Russian (delegation) is not officially known to me, but from what we can see, it looks like the level of the delegation is rather decorative,” Zelenskyy said. “We need to understand what level the delegation is, what its mandate is and whether it can take any decisions.”
Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian delegation includes his foreign minister, the heads of the military and intelligence services, as well as senior officials from his office.
ASKED WHAT HIS MESSAGE TO PUTIN WOULD BE, ZELENSKYY TOLD REPORTERS AT THE AIRPORT: “I AM HERE. I THINK THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR.”
Russia said its team was in Istanbul and ready for serious work and accused Ukraine of “trying to put on a show” around the talks.
The US president, who is visiting three countries in the Middle East, said on Thursday he would go to Turkey for talks if it was “appropriate”.
“I just hope that Russia and Ukraine will be able to do something. This has to end,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, said there was no military solution to the conflict and that Trump was open to “virtually any mechanism” that would lead to peace.
If the talks take place, they will have to address the gap that exists between the two sides on many issues.
BNN already reported that Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on Thursday in Turkey “without any preconditions”. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has been pushing for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and he wants the two sides to sign a 30-day ceasefire agreement. Zelenskyy is in favour of an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said that he first wants to start talks where the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.