Zelenskyy challenges Putin to meet in person for peace talks

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Putin will not travel to Istanbul for peace talks with Zelenskyy, Kremlin confirms

Vladimir Putin will not travel to Istanbul for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin has said, rejecting the Ukrainian president’s bold proposal for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey to discuss peace.

In a statement late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said its delegation would be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline Putin aide who led the only previous round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
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Russia’s decision to appoint Medinsky to lead the talks suggests it aims to revive negotiations along the lines of the fruitless 2022 Istanbul round, which included maximalist demands such as limiting Ukraine’s military and blocking it from rebuilding with western support – terms Kyiv has rejected as unacceptable.

Notably, the Kremlin is not sending its two most senior diplomats, Yuri Ushakov and Sergei Lavrov, who have previously taken part in multiple high-level talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/14/kremlin-tight-lipped-for-third-day-on-whether-putin-will-meet-zelenskyy