Putin To Skip Ukraine Peace Talks, Trump Too To Give It A Miss

Zelenskyy had earlier said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian President agreed

By : ABP Live News | Updated at : 15 May 2025 09:45 AM (IST)

Russian President Vladimir Putin to skip Ukraine peace talks in Turkey on Thursday.
Source : PTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday. The Russian delegation will be instead headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kremlin statement.

The development comes amid calls by Ukrainian President Vololymyr Zelenskyy for Putin to attend the meeting. 

Zelenskyy had earlier said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian President agreed. He said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place. 

However, the list of names provided by the Kremlin on people due to attend the peace talks doesn't include Putin, reported BBC. 

US President Donald Trump, who had earlier signalled that he would attend the meeting if Putin did, will also not be there for the meeting. 

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Zelenskyy To Visit Turkey

Zelenskyy will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his visit to the capital Ankara on Thursday. The Ukrainian President said he would attend direct talks in Istanbul with Russia, only if Putin also attended. 

"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," he said on Wednesday. 

On Sunday, Putin called for direct talks between the two nations in Turkey "without pre-conditions". Later, Zelenskyy announced he would go in person and expected Putin to travel as well. 

Putin suggested the direct talks after the West called for a 30-day ceasefire following a meeting of key leaders of the European Union in Kyiv on Sunday. 

On Wednesday, Trump -- who is currently on a visit to West Asia -- floated the possibility of joining the meeting if Putin did. He told reporters that he did not know if his Russian counterpart would attend "if I'm not there".

"I know he would like me to be there, and that's a possibility. If we could end the war, I'd be thinking about that," Trump said.

Published at : 15 May 2025 08:56 AM (IST)
Tags :
Vladimir Putin Russia Ukraine War Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ukraine RUSSIA

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