Although he will not be in Istanbul personally, Ukraine’s president said on Thursday that he has consented to send the group there for lower-level negotiations with Russia’s delegates. Following the meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he approved of Ukraine’s involvement in the negotiations with Moscow’s team as a show of respect for the US and Turkish leaders and as an unambiguous indication of Ukraine’s determination to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“We want to try to achieve at least the first steps towards de-escalation, an end to the war – namely a ceasefire – so I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul out of respect for President Trump, the high level of the Turkish delegation, and President Erdogan,” Zelensky added.
Despite Umerov’s Russian counterpart’s absence, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will lead Kyiv’s delegation.
Upon his arrival in Ankara, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has the highest level of representation in Turkey, with the military, intelligence, presidential office, and foreign ministry “to make any decisions that might lead to the expected and just peace.
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