Zelensky Reacted Sharply To Putin's Refusal To Hold Face-to-face Talks In Istanbul

• 15.05.2025, 8:11

The West convinced Ukraine's president to change his mind.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to hold talks in Istanbul today, May 15. On the Russian side, neither the country's president nor its foreign minister will be present at the meeting.

The Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, observing the developments around the upcoming talks, wanted to completely refuse to participate in them, The Washington Post reported.

The publication's source claims that Zelensky allegedly not only did not want to participate in the negotiations personally, but also did not intend to send his representatives there, considering the trip pointless.

But representatives of both the United States and the European Union urged the Ukrainian president to send a representative delegation to Istanbul, including the foreign minister and the head of the Presidential Office.

According to the source, U.S. special envoy Steve Whitkoff personally convinced Zelensky that direct negotiations with Russia are beneficial to all parties. If only the Ukrainian delegation comes to the talks, Washington is allegedly ready to impose new sanctions against Russia. If Russian representatives are also present at the meeting, it could bring the ceasefire closer.

One Ukrainian official admitted that Zelensky is still pushing for a face-to-face meeting with Putin to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire directly.

The Ukrainian president will also meet with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara today. However, Zelensky initially made it clear that he was ready to fly to Istanbul if Putin arrives there as well.

Late yesterday afternoon, the composition of the Russian delegation became known, and Donald Trump said he would definitely not go to Turkey.