Ukrainian, Russian, and Turkish officials will hold trilateral talks in Istanbul on May 16 at 12:30 p.m. local time as part of peace efforts, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported, citing Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.
The discussions, which will reportedly take place at the Presidential Dolmabahce Office, should be preceded by a meeting among Ukrainian, Turkish, and U.S. officials at 10:45 a.m., the news agency reported.
The meetings would mark the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the unsuccessful peace talks in Istanbul in 2022.
After Moscow proposed to hold peace talks in Turkey this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed and invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for a face-to-face meeting. The Russian leader declined to attend and appointed his aide, Vladimir Medinsky, who represented Russia at the 2022 negotiations, to lead the talks.
The Ukrainian delegation that arrived in Turkey on May 15 consisted of top Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, representatives of the Presidential Office, the military, and intelligence agencies.
However, after a three-hour meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zelensky announced that a smaller delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would travel to Istanbul to discuss a potential ceasefire.
Kyiv and its partners have urged Moscow to adopt an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as the first step toward a broader peace deal, a move that Russia continues to reject.
The Medinsky-led Russian delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Military Intelligence Director Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
The list is notably void of top Russian politicians, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would meet Sybiha and other Ukrainian officials, while other members of the U.S. team would hold talks with Russian delegates. According to AFP, Rubio has already arrived in Istanbul.
U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted at the possibility of attending the talks on May 16 if progress is made, but later downplayed the efforts, saying no breakthrough is possible until he meets Putin.
Officials and observers have voiced doubts about the prospects of the meeting amid the confusing back-and-forths of the participating parties and the absence of Zelensky and Putin.
Rubio said that the level of the Russian delegation was "not indicative of one that’s going to lead to a major breakthrough," while Zelensky went as far as to call it a "sham delegation."
Alex Cadier
(Updated: )
