Marco Rubio, a prominent US diplomat, has expressed scepticism regarding the forthcoming peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, scheduled to take place in Turkey. He believes that significant progress will only be achieved through a direct meeting between former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I don’t think we’re going to have a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin interact directly on this topic,” Rubio stated after attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in southern Turkey.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine would send a delegation to the discussions in Istanbul but took issue with what he termed the “low-level” representation from Moscow. The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, countered by asserting that the Kremlin’s team possessed “all the necessary competencies.”
Earlier in the day, Trump, who is currently in the Middle East, echoed similar sentiments, suggesting that meaningful advancements in the peace talks would be unlikely until he and Putin convened in person. When questioned by the BBC aboard Air Force One about his feelings regarding the calibre of the Russian delegation, he remarked, “Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.” He added, “He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there, and I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together. But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
Trump indicated he might attend the talks in Turkey on Friday if deemed “appropriate,” although he later suggested he would likely return to Washington. Delegations from Turkey, the US, Ukraine, and Russia were expected to convene in Istanbul on Thursday for the first in-person discussions between Ukraine and Russia since 2022. As of Thursday evening, the timing of the talks remained unconfirmed, with some reports suggesting they may now occur on Friday.
On 15 May, Putin had proposed direct talks in Istanbul following appeals from European leaders and Ukraine for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Zelensky subsequently challenged Putin to meet face-to-face; however, the Kremlin announced on Thursday that the Russian president would not be among the officials attending due to travel commitments.
Following a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Zelensky accused Moscow of showing “disrespect” towards both Trump and Erdogan due to the low seniority of the Russian delegation. He reiterated his challenge for Putin to meet him personally, stating, “No time of the meeting, no agenda, no high-level delegation – this is personal disrespect to Erdogan, to Trump.”
Medinsky, speaking to reporters in Istanbul, characterised the upcoming talks as a “continuation” of previous negotiations that faltered in 2022, shortly after Russia commenced its extensive invasion of Ukraine. “The task of direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side is to sooner or later reach the establishment of long-term peace by eliminating the basic root causes of the conflict,” he remarked.
The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, as per a decree from Zelensky issued on Thursday. It will also include deputy heads of intelligence, military general staff, and the foreign ministry. Medinsky, who previously led unsuccessful negotiations with Ukraine in 2022, will head the Russian team, which will also feature Russia’s deputy defence minister, deputy foreign minister, and military intelligence chief.
These Istanbul talks represent the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the failed discussions in 2022, with Russia eager to resume where they left off. The topics expected to be discussed include demands for Ukraine to adopt a neutral stance, reduce its military capabilities, and abandon aspirations for NATO membership—conditions that Ukraine has consistently rejected as tantamount to surrender.
Meanwhile, fighting continues unabated in Ukraine, with Russia claiming its forces captured two additional villages in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday. Currently, Moscow controls approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed illegally in 2014.
UK Defence Minister John Healey has called on Ukraine’s allies to “put pressure on Putin.” Following a meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday, Healey advocated for further sanctions against Russia to encourage Putin to engage in negotiations.
