Sending delegation to Istanbul for peace talks with Russia: Zelenskyy

Ankara: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he is sending a team headed by his defence minister to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with a Russian delegation since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Zelenskyy made the move after Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away from a face-to-face meeting with him in Turkiye that the Ukrainian leader had proposed in a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers last weekend. Zelenskyy told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara the Russian delegation doesn’t include “anyone who actually makes decisions,” accusing Moscow of not taking efforts to end the war seriously.

But he said that to demonstrate to US President Donald Trump that Ukraine is seeking an end to the conflict he had decided to send officials from Ankara to Istanbul — more than 400 kilometres away — for their first direct talks since March 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour the previous month.

He said the Ukrainian side would be headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and its aim is “to attempt at least the first steps toward de-escalation, the first steps toward ending the war — namely, a ceasefire.”

Putin’s absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in peace efforts that were given a push in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders amid the intense maneuvering. 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 honour guard at the presidential palace in Ankara before the two held 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 Turkey. “The talks ... hopefully may open a new chapter.”

The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the UN, and continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line. Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.

At least five civilians were killed and 29 injured in the past day, according to authorities in five eastern regions of Ukraine where Russia’s army is trying to advance. The diplomatic maneuvering began over the weekend when European leaders met Zelenskyy in Kyiv and urged the Kremlin to agree to a full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward peace.

Putin later responded by proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Then came Zelenskyy’s challenge to Putin for face-to-face talks. After days of silence, the Kremlin finally responded Thursday, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Putin has no plans to travel to Istanbul in the

next few days.