{"id":137545,"date":"2025-05-15T16:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/no-postponement-to-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul-turkish-source-says-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T16:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T16:47:10","slug":"no-postponement-to-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul-turkish-source-says-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/no-postponement-to-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul-turkish-source-says-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"No postponement to Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkish source says – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Turkey’s president recognises Crimea as Ukrainian territory – and that Russia is not taking peace seriously after Vladimir Putin shunned talks in Turkey today. Listen to the Sky News Daily podcast as you scroll.
Thursday 15 May 2025 17:15, UK
Michael Clarke, our security and defence analyst, will be back on Friday afternoon for his weekly Q&A on the Ukraine war.
You can submit your question for him using the form at the top of this page.
Watch last week’s Q&A below:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of sending “stand-in props” to peace talks in Turkey after Moscow confirmed Vladimir Putin would not attend. Zelenskyy had challenged Putin to meet him.
But how are Ukrainians feeling about the prospect of a possible end to the war?
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn<\/a> is in Kyiv and joins Niall Paterson<\/a> to discuss if the country is ready to find a peace agreement with Russia.
It’s approaching 5pm in London, 7pm in Kyiv and Moscow. Here’s a rundown of the latest developments:
More to bring you now from Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide leading Russia’s low-level delegation in Istanbul.
He says Russia is “ready” to discuss “possible compromises” and is in a “working mood”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier called the Russian delegation “low-level” and “decorative”, but Medinsky says it actually consists of “chief officials of all relevant authorities”.
Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide leading Russia’s low-level delegation in Istanbul, has been giving a news conference of his own while Volodymyr Zelenskyy was speaking in Ankara.
He told reporters Russia views the latest talks as a continuation of the peace process started in 2022.
Putin set the delegation’s tasks and defined the negotiating position, after a meeting with the commanders of Russia’s “special operation”, Medinsky added – with “special operation” of course being the Kremlin’s term for the war and 2022’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But Medinsky added Russia’s delegation is determined to find solutions and “points of contact” in Istanbul.
Zelenskyy has been arguing, of course, that that determination is fake – given the level of officials sent, and that Putin makes all the decisions in Russia.
With the news conference now over, let’s revisit a moment Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted at when the talks in Istanbul could get under way.
The Ukrainian president confirmed that a Ukrainian delegation has been sent to Istanbul, and said a Turkish delegation will also be there.
“The American delegation party is in Istanbul, the meeting could happen tonight, maybe it will happen tomorrow,” he said.
But he once again points the blame in Russia’s direction, stating “everyone is waiting”.
“We did everything in our power, everyone is waiting on the other side, for the Russian side,” he adds.
“It is very important to bear in mind the essence of this meeting, the agenda of this meeting.”
The talks will involved Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the US, if they go ahead.
As the news conference wraps up, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asked a question by our international correspondent Alex Rossi<\/a>.
He asks the Ukrainian president where the peace process stands after Vladimir Putin’s no-show.
“We all want the peace process to start,” Zelenskyy says.
“We can argue about things but when the groups are working, it’s moving in the right direction, it’s a road to diplomacy.”
Zelenskyy goes on to say that “Europe, America, we are all together in this diplomacy”.
He stresses that the direction “has been chosen correctly”, adding “I’m sure there are no arguments in order to agree on things in a certain period of time, at least when it comes to a ceasefire”.
Away from the news conference for a moment, as we’ve just heard from the Turkish presidency.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Turkey is ready to host talks between the Ukrainian president and Vladimir Putin when they are ready.
As we’ve been reporting, Erdogan met Zelenskyy for talks earlier today (see 12.28 post).
Zelenskyy had been hoping Russia’s president would attend talks in Istanbul, but has since been critical of the delegation it sent (see 15.14 post).
After starting the news conference by mentioning that Turkish President Erdogan recognised Crimea as Ukrainian (see 15.00 post), Zelenskyy has spoken about the peninsula once again.
“Crimea is part of our state and Turkey, thank God, supports this position and understands that,” he says.
“Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula… we do not recognise that as Russian.
“I’ve got this position, he’s got this position, we cannot discuss the territorial issues.”
Zelenskyy adds that he will always emphasise his “unwavering position” during talks.
“We will not recognise all the occupied by Russian territories of Ukraine as Russian territory, this is Ukrainian territory.”
As we explained in our 15.00 post, the peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and has long been coveted by Moscow.
It wants Ukraine to officially surrender the territory as part of a peace deal, but Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected that on multiple occasions.
Still speaking at his news conference in Ankara, Zelenskyy says that if a ceasefire could be reached at a technical level during peace talks in Turkey today, a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could be skipped.
Zelenskyy also urged Ukraine’s allies to exert more pressure on Moscow if it fails to demonstrate a willingness for talks. 
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued with his criticism over the level of Russia’s delegation it has sent for talks in Istanbul.
“We see the representatives of the Russian Federation and we understand what level it is,” he says.
Zelenskyy goes on to accuse Russia of showing a lack of respect over its choice of delegation.
“Russia should demonstrate at least something, at least the level of delegation,” he goes on to say.
“If we don’t see this demonstration, it means that they’re not ready to talk about putting an end to the war and make decisions, it means they lack political will.”
Zelenskyy clarifies he is not only talking about a lack of respect to Ukraine, as he points out Donald Trump has also sent “a big group of people” for talks.
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