5m ago
10.42 BST
Zelenskyy:
Russian delegation that arrived in Istanbul is largely a 'theatre prop'
Pjotr
Sauer
Pjotr
Sauer is in Ankara for the Guardian
In his
first comments after landing in Ankara, Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the
Russian delegation that had arrived in Istanbul as largely a “theatre prop.”
“We’re in
contact with the American side, I believe they’ll also be present in Turkey at
a high level,” he said. “As for the Russians, we’ll see. Nothing has been
confirmed officially, but from what we’ve observed, it looks more like a
theatre prop than a serious one.”
“What we
do know for certain,” he added, “is who actually makes decisions on the Russian
side. And we will act accordingly.”
The
Kremlin has said its delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline
aide to Vladimir Putin who headed the only previous round of direct peace talks
with Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022.
Notably,
Russia is not sending its two top diplomats – Yuri Ushakov and Sergei Lavrov –
both of whom have taken part in earlier high-level negotiations with US
officials in Saudi Arabia.
Moscow’s
decision to once again appoint Medinsky suggests the Kremlin is attempting to
revive talks based on the same framework as in 2022 – a round widely seen as
fruitless due to Russia’s maximalist demands, including restrictions on
Ukraine’s military and sovereignty.
“This is
all just a performance – a simulation of peace talks,” Boris Bondarev, a former
Russian diplomat who resigned over the war told the Guarsian.
Bondarev
said Putin proposed the talks in Turkey with the aim of convincing Trump that
he was committed to peace, while continuing the fighting on the ground.
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