The Kremlin has again declined to say whether President Vladimir Putin will travel to Turkiye for planned negotiations with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid growing international pressure on Moscow to hold direct talks and end its three-year war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Moscow would disclose the makeup of its delegation to Turkiye once Putin gave the order.
“The Russian delegation will be waiting for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul on May 15,” he said.
Peskov said he would provide an update “when we get the relevant instructions from the president”.
“No such instructions have been received yet.”
The planned negotiations, expected to take place on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkiye’s commercial hub, would be the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Turkiye where he said he would hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on either Wednesday or Thursday.
The Ukrainian leader has challenged Putin to meet him in Turkiye, saying if he does not show up, it would show that Moscow is not interested in peace.
He also urged United States President Donald Trump to visit Turkiye and participate in the talks.
Credit: aljazeera.com
