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
    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.