Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Turkey to attend peace talks with Ukraine that he himself suggested, the Kremlin announced Wednesday evening.
The news is of little surprise, as Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person. Many observers, including EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, predicted he wouldn’t elect to meet directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin offered the talks to Ukraine on May 11. Zelenskyy responded positively but cautiously, demanding a 30-day ceasefire as a starting point for negotiations. Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
While Putin never responded publicly to the ceasefire demand, a social media post from United States President Donald Trump, who has been pushing the two parties to agree a deal to end the war, said the Russian leader “doesn’t want” a ceasefire. He nonetheless demanded Zelenskyy accept the offer, and the Ukrainian leader was set to attend.
Trump was also set to join the talks — although only if Putin did as well — according to his special envoy Keith Kellogg.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes related to the conflict.
A delegation headed by Vladimir Medinsky, one of Putin’s aides, will still go to Istanbul for the negotiations, according to a Kremlin announcement.
Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report.
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