The Kremlin followed the political scene, by announcing the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from the upcoming Russian -Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul.
In a decree posted on the official website of the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed the formation of the participating Russian delegation, which includes its advisor, Vladimir Midinski, and Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fumin, in addition to General Igor Costyukov, director of the main intelligence department in the Military Intelligence Service. They are names that have previously participated in the 2022 negotiations that followed the beginning of the war on Ukraine.
Later, the Kremlin officially announced that Putin would not attend negotiating sessions personally, confirming his full confidence in the negotiating delegation.
On the other hand, Reuters quoted a senior Ukrainian official who declined to be named for security reasons, that President Voludimir Zellinski “is on his way to the Turkish capital, Ankara”, to participate directly in the talks.
The source said: “We are on the way,” referring to Kyiv’s seriousness in this tour.
Trump’s absence
For his part, a US official confirmed that President Donald Trump will not travel to Türkiye to participate in the talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled in Istanbul on Thursday.
Instead, the United States will represent Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and other envoys, including Steve Witkeov and Keith Kelog, in these talks.
Trump had previously expressed his willingness to attend the talks, provided that Russian President Vladimir Putin participated. However, Putin decided not to attend.
