Ukraine Peace Talks
BBC News
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Ukraine Peace Talks
BBC News
Russia says President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul today
Russia released a list of officials due to attend – and the president was not on it
Ukraine's President Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet him – saying he would only attend the talks if Putin was there
On Wednesday, Donald Trump hinted he would attend the talks if Putin showed up – the US president is on a four-day visit to the Middle East
Talks between Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations are still due to happen in Istanbul – Zelensky is having separate talks with Turkey's President Erdogan in Ankara
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the Turkish city of Antalya, holding talks with ministers from Nato countries
Edited by Matt Spivey
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had challenged Vladimir Putin to come to Turkey in person, but instead his Russian counterpart is sending a very junior delegation.
Key names include the Russian presidential adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, the deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Galuzin and the deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin – a level of representation which the Ukrainians will see as an insult.
It's extremely unlikely President Zelensky will meet them, but he may send a team of negotiators – especially given the mounting US pressure on Ukraine to talk to Russia.
Igor Kostyukov heads Russia’s Main Directorate of Intelligence – he play a key role in the organisation of prisoner releases.
He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities” and then in 2018 for cyber-attacks and interference in the 2016 US elections that were won by Donald Trump.
In 2020, the European Union sanctioned him for stealing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's emails in a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament.
Peace talks with Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations will take place in Istanbul today – but they're not the only high-level diplomatic events taking place in Turkey.
Russia's presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin and deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin will attend the talks in Istanbul, north-west Turkey.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara – around 250 miles east of Istanbul – to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
And US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Antalya, in the south of the country, to meet Nato foreign ministers.
Nato chief Mark Rutte, Latvia's foreign minister, Estonia's foreign minister and Germany's foreign minister are in attendance.
Nato chief Mark Rutte says he is "cautiously optimistic" for a breakthrough in Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
Rutte adds: "It is now up to the Russians to make sure they take the next steps."
Yesterday, Nato's secretary general met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Following their meeting, he said "there is a real window of opportunity for progress towards peace".
He also met Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.
Orla Guerin
Reporting from Istanbul
President Vladimir Putin kept people guessing – as he likes to do – about whether or not he would attend the talks. But he seems set to stay away.
The Ukrainian leader, by contrast, had said he was ready to fly from Ankara to Istanbul – at a moment’s notice – if President Putin turned up but added that he would only talk to him.
“This is his war, “ Volodymyr Zelensky said, “so the negotiations should be with him”.
Direct Russia-Ukraine talks – at any level – would be the first since the months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago.
But, there’s no sign that either side is ready for major concessions.
For now, the only winner is the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faced mass protests here recently, after the jailing of his main rival.
He can now shift attention from domestic repression, to international diplomacy. 
Matt Spivey
Live editor
Peace talks in the Ukraine-Russia war will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, today – but the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is not on the list of officials attending.
US President Donald Trump will also not be attending, according to media reports – despite hinting yesterday he would, if Putin showed up.
Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ukrainian president said he would attend the talks with Russia in Istanbul, but only if Putin was there.
Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019.
On Sunday, after Putin proposed direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!"
As we wait to see who attends the talks, we'll bring you the key developments and analysis from our teams in London, Turkey, and around the region.
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