Putin spurns Zelenskyy meeting but lower-level Ukraine-Russia talks are still on
apnews.com
Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough are still dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Delegations from Ukraine and Russia traveled to Turkey Thursday for peace talks, but while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stayed away, prompting criticism from Western officials that the Kremlin isn’t serious about the efforts to end the war.

Zelenskyy said the Russian delegation appeared to be merely “decorative.” Speaking at the airport in the Turkish capital, Ankara, he said the next steps for talks would be decided after his upcoming meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will lead the Russian team that will also include three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks in Istanbul.

  • blady_blah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    414·
    1 day ago

    Peace talks usually don’t include the real leaders. This really seems to be a non story.

    Negotiations are done by lower level diplomats and the agreement is signed off by the leaders. That’s diplomacy 101. Name one major 20th century diplomatic deal that was negotiated by the leaders in person. I know we all hate Putin and Russia here, but let’s not be stupid in our criticism.

    • Moose@moose.bestEnglish
      6·
      1 day ago

      Camp David Accords? 13 days of negotiations with the US, Israeli, and Egyptian leaders of the time? I think the Dayton agreement was similar too. Leaders are involved in this stuff, not always but it’s certainly not unusual either.

      • blady_blah@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        Camp David Accords? 13 days of negotiations with the US, Israeli, and Egyptian leaders of the time? I think the Dayton agreement was similar too. Leaders are involved in this stuff, not always but it’s certainly not unusual either.

        This is a reason able counter-argument. However, I still think it’s quite rare for leaders of two nations actively at war to come together and discuss a peace plan.

    • palordrolap@fedia.io
      2·
      1 day ago

      20th century? The Yalta Conference was a pretty big one in WWII. Churchill, FDR and Stalin all met to determine what was to be done about a certain Austrian and his fan club.

      • blady_blah@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 day ago

        I don’t think this is a good counter argument since this was more allies getting together to discuss and negotiate plans. Zelensky and Putin would be more like the Emperor of Japan meeting with FDR to discuss a peace treaty for Japan. Or Hitler and Churchill getting together.

        Leaders usually wait until an agreement is in place before putting their reputations on the line, as there’s always resistance from hardline “fight to the end” factions. It’s smarter to confront that opposition only when the benefits of a deal are assured.