Zelensky calls Russian team in Turkey ‘phony’ as Putin skips peace talks

 

What you need to know

• Ukraine and Russia may hold talks in Turkey today but there is confusion over who, if anyone, will attend. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin won’t be taking part, despite calling the talks himself. A Turkish source said there was no confirmed meeting “yet.”

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he’ll decide on the talks after a meeting with Turkey’s President Erdogan. He’s said he won’t meet anyone from the Russian side other than Putin, and dismissed the Russian delegation as “phony.”

• US President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to mediate the talks. He had repeatedly hinted that he might upend his Middle East travel schedule to join the negotiations after Zelensky said he would be “grateful” for his presence and Trump said Putin would “like me to be there.”

• Kyiv and Moscow are not known to have held direct talks at any level since soon after Moscow launched its unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the stakes are higher this time, as both Trump and Ukraine’s European allies said they would impose more sanctions on Moscow if it didn’t agree to a ceasefire.