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Moscow has sent a ‘low level’ delegation to meet Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul, while Trump says a peace deal won’t happen before he and Putin ‘get together’
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Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv will send a delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov for direct talks with a Russian team in Istanbul.
During a press conference in Ankara following a meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Zelensky hit out at the level of the Russian delegation – saying it proves Moscow is not serious about peace.
“Russia does not feel that it needs to end (the war), which means there is not enough political, economic and other pressure on the Russian Federation,” he said, asking for “appropriate sanctions”. He had earlier accused Moscow of sending “stand-in props” for talks with Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky also challenged Vladimir Putin to “demonstrate his leadership” and meet face-to-face – something the Russian president has declined to do this week.
“You want to meet? Let’s meet,” the Ukrainian president said, afterwards adding: “I believe that the US now and Turkey feel Russia’s disrespect. [Russia provided] no time of meeting, no agenda, no high-level delegation.”
Earlier today, Mr Trump said a peace deal isn’t going to happen until he and Vladimir Putin “get together” after the Russian president shunned direct negotiations with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey.
Rachel Clun and Alex Croft report:
Tom Watling and Alex Croft report:
Vladimir Putin has replaced the commander of Russia’s ground forces, Army General Oleg Salyukov, appointing him deputy secretary of the Security Council.
The Security Council is the Kremlin’s top consultative body, chaired by Putin, and which is responsible for managing and integrating national security policy. It does not have direct authority over Russia’s security agencies and ministries.
The secretary of the Security Council is former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Salyukov has for the past 11 years led the large Victory Day parades in Moscow’s Red Square that mark the anniversary of Germany’s surrender at the end of World War Two.
From January 2023, Salyukov was deputy to Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, who was appointed by Putin as a commander in charge to lead Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Salyukov has been sanctioned by the UK, the European Union, Canada and several other countries.
US President Donald Trump has said he will probably return to Washington on Friday after a tour of three Gulf countries, although he said his destination is unknown as of yet.
Mr Trump has hinted earlier that he could stop in Istanbul for talks on Ukraine.
“We’ll be leaving tomorrow, as you know. Almost destination unknown – because they’ll be getting calls ‘Could you be here? Could you be there?’ But probably going back to Washington, D.C. tomorrow,” Trump said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will meet with a delegation headed by Vladimir Medinsky, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Istanbul on Thursday evening, a ministry spokesperson said.
Ukraine’s delegation to the upcoming Istanbul talks with Russia will be led by its defence minister and include the deputy heads of its intelligence services, the deputy chief of the military’s general staff and the deputy foreign minister, a presidential decree said.
Read the full analysis by Mary Dejevsky:
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