Direct negotiations with theUkraine a Istanbul, , as to who will be there (and who won't) the mystery remains: from the Kremlin – via the agency Interfax – no certainty is leaking out. Total confidentiality, in fact, on the names of those who, in reality, will ultimately make up the Russian delegation expected in Türkiye where the talks between the two parties are scheduled for Thursday 15 May Russia and Ukraine to try to outline a peace agreement. The only indiscretion that filters through is the one spread by the Russian newspaper Kommersant, who – citing his own source on condition of anonymity – reported that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will not be part of it. Putin will most likely not be there. And neither will Trump.
Russia-Ukraine: Moscow vs. Macron
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attacks the French president Emmanuel Macron ready to deploy in Poland French nuclear warheads“The proliferation of nuclear weapons in Europe will not benefit security, predictability and stability on the continent,” Peskov said, adding: “Now the entire system of strategic stability and security is in a deplorable state for understandable reasons.”
Russia-Ukraine: What will be discussed in Istanbul?
in this Direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev scheduled in Istanbul "Political and many technical issues" will be on the table, and the Russian delegation will be "formed on this basis," Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said in an interview with state television. First Channel agency pick-up Ria Novosti“All theses are on the table” and “the Russian delegation will be ready for negotiations and will wait for the Ukrainian side,” Peskov also told the same broadcaster.
Russia-Ukraine: Zelensky towards Istanbul
In all this, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he made it known that he intends to go to Istanbul only if he is present anyway Vladimir Putin. Zelensky is still expected to meet his Turkish counterpart in Ankara Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is true that Kiev has not yet received a response from Moscow on Putin's presence at the potential peace talks.
If confirmed, direct peace talks between Russians and Ukrainians would be the first since the failure of the initial discussions which took place following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia-Ukraine: Who Will (and Won't) Be There in Istanbul
Not only that. The American president Donald Trump He raised the possibility of traveling to Turkey if Russian President Putin shows up for talks with Zelensky. “I don’t know if he’ll come. I know he’d like me to be there. It’s a possibility,” the U.S. president told reporters aboard his plane after leaving Saudi Arabia and before arriving in Qatar.
It is currently known that Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff ,and the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will travel to Istanbul, Witkoff said. Speaking to reporters in Doha, Qatar, the U.S. envoy also said there was no certainty about Putin's participation in the talks in Turkey. "Rubio and I will go to Istanbul. I don't know if Putin will attend," Witkoff said.
