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Putin’s absence casts doubt on peace talks in turkiye, raising concerns about potential intensified sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Has Said He is Mission A Team Headed by his Defense Minister to Istanbul for the first direct talks with a russian delegation since the early Weeks of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion in 2022.
Zelenskyyyyyynced the move on Thursday after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had no intention to meet with him in Turkiye, mission instead a junior delegation – a move that estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkn said was “like a limp in the face”.
The Ukrainian President said in a news conference in the Turkish Capital, Ankara, that the Russian delegation does not include “anyone who actually makes decisions”, accusing moscow of not making efforts to end the war.
The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Rusem Umerov with the aim “to attempt at least the first steps toward de-escalation, the first steps toward ending the war-namely, a ceasefire”, He said.
It was not immediately clear when the delegations would measure.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, Reporting in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara, Said Zelenskyy Chose a delegation “in equilibrium” with the Russian one.
“He said they did not mind the first step towards an immediate ceafire that is necessary for direct peace talks,” she said.
Still, “There is no negotiations, and zelenskyy underlined that even his delegation has no mandate to decide anything. So tomorrow, it is probably going to be technical talks between the two delegations,” she added.
US President Trump, who had pressed for Putin and Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Istanbul, brushed off Putin’s absence from the talks.
“Nothing’s going to happen until Russian President Vladimir Putin and I Get Together, Ok?” Trump Said on Board Air Force One Just Before Landing in Dubai on the third stop of his middle east trip. “I did not think it was possible for putin to go if i’m not there.”
Putin’s absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in CEASEFIRE Efforts that were given a push in recent months by the Trump Administration and Western European leaders amid the intense maneuver. It also raised the prospect of intensified international sanctions on russia that have been threatened by the West.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Earlier Welcomed Zelenskyy with an honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Ankara before the two hero talks.
“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a Nato Meeting Taking Place Separately in Turkiye. “The talks … hopefully may open a new chapter.”
