Ukraine, Russia to Hold Talks Without Putin

Ukraine and Russia are set to hold their first direct talks in over three years on Thursday, but Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be present, raising doubts about the seriousness of the Kremlin’s intentions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had challenged Putin to join the talks in Istanbul. Instead, Russia is sending a lower-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, a close aide to Putin and former culture minister, who also participated in negotiations in 2022.

Putin’s absence is seen as a setback to the significance of the talks, which come after a failed attempt to reach a settlement shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"This is his war," Zelensky said. "Therefore, the negotiations should be with him."

Other members of the Russian delegation include Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, and Igor Kostyukov, head of Russia’s military intelligence agency. Notably absent are high-profile figures like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.

Russia has proposed these talks as a counter to a recent Western call for a 30-day ceasefire. Moscow insists on addressing what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict, including “denazification” and demilitarisation of Ukraine — terms that Kyiv and its allies reject as pretexts for aggression.

Moscow has also repeated its demand that Ukraine cede Russian-occupied territories, a position Ukraine strongly opposes. Zelensky, however, has acknowledged that diplomacy may be needed to recover occupied land.

Zelensky said he would decide Ukraine’s next steps after seeing who represents Moscow at the talks.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected in Istanbul on Friday. Former U.S. President Donald Trump also hinted he might consider a mediation role, saying, “If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that.”

The war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and left Russia occupying about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory — making it the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II.