Zelenski: Putin missed chance to end war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski claims that "this week was a real chance for significant steps towards ending the war, if Putin hadn't been afraid to come to Turkey."
At the same time, he criticized the Russian president's delegation sent to the negotiations.
"I was prepared for a direct meeting with Putin in Ankara or Istanbul. And not only for a meeting, but to resolve all the important issues, in my opinion. But he didn't agree to anything. I'm referring to Putin," Zelenski wrote. "It is obvious that the Russian delegation that arrived in Istanbul is very low-level. It doesn't include a single person capable of making real decisions in Russia. Despite this, I sent our delegation, led by Ukraine's Minister of Defense, to Istanbul – at least to check if the Russians were indeed capable of making any decisions." wrote Zelenski while in Albania.
According to him, Ukraine is ready to take all realistic steps to end this war:
"I urge Putin to grant his delegation real authority. Throughout the day, I will keep everyone informed about developments in Istanbul and if there is any chance for the Russian delegation to take real steps to stop the killings and end the war."
It is worth noting that Russia and Ukraine resumed peace negotiations in Istanbul today, May 16. Russian leader Vladimir Putin did not come to Istanbul on Thursday to discuss a peace agreement, although he was the one who launched the initiative for direct negotiations. Neither US President Donald Trump nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski participated in the discussions.
According to Ukrainian media, today's negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey in Istanbul have concluded. Meanwhile, Russian media announced a pause in the peace talks: "at the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at the office of the President of Turkey, Dolmabahce, in Istanbul, a pause was taken." The meeting reportedly lasted less than two hours, "amidst low expectations, fueled by last-minute confusion regarding scheduling and mutual accusations of bad faith," writes The Moscow Times.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
