WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL听–听U.S. President聽聽and his Russian counterpart聽聽will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats.
Mr. Putin on Sunday 聽direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday “without any preconditions”. Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation聽 presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
After the Kremlin’s delegation announcement, a U.S. official said Mr.聽聽would not attend – days after saying that he was considering the trip.
While Mr. Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and U.S. presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in聽聽that Russia started in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had聽聽the Kremlin leader to attend the talks “if he’s not afraid,” in an apparent contest to show Mr. Trump who wants peace more. Mr.聽Zelenskiy was on聽聽to Turkey, a Ukrainian official said. Earlier, the Kyiv leader has said he would聽聽in the negotiations only if Putin were there.
Mr. Trump wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe’s biggest land war since World War Two, and a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday there could also be discussions about a huge prisoner of war exchange.
Mr. Zelenskiy backs an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Mr. Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.
MORE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA?
Mr. Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to push them towards a peace settlement, said he was “always considering” secondary sanctions against Moscow if he thought it was blocking the process.
U.S. officials have spoken about possible financial sanctions as well as potential secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.
A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday that Ukraine’s leadership would decide on its聽聽for peace talks in Turkey once there was clarity on Putin’s participation.
The U.S. delegation to Turkey included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said early on Thursday he had met with Rubio to聽 Mr. Zelenskiy’s peace vision and “coordinate positions during this critical week.”
Mr. Medinsky and Mr. Fomin, part of the Russian delegation, took part in the last set of negotiations between the two sides in the first weeks of the war.
Direct talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia last聽聽in Istanbul in March 2022,聽a month after Mr. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what he calls a “special military operation” to root out neo-Nazis.
Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. – Reuters
