Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he will send a delegation to Istanbul for direct talks with Russian officials, considering neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor U.S. President Donald Trump will attend.
Speaking in Ankara, Zelenskyy said that the Russian team lacks senior decision-makers. “This is to show President Trump that Ukraine wants peace,” Zelenskyy said. “Our goal is to begin steps toward de-escalation and a ceasefire.”
Nevertheless, despite the extremely low level of the Russian delegation, out of respect — for President Trump, for the high-level delegations present in Türkiye, and for President Erdoğan, and out of a sincere desire to take at least the first steps toward de-escalation and…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 15, 2025
The Istanbul talks will be the first direct meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in three years. But expectations are low after Trump said earlier this week that “nothing will happen” until he and Putin sit down together. Russia’s decision to send only mid-level officials has added to skepticism about any immediate breakthroughs.
