Russia says President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul today
Russia released a list of officials due to attend but the president was not on it – instead it seems to be a very junior delegation, according to a report by the BBC.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet him – saying he would only attend the talks if Putin was there
On Wednesday, Donald Trump hinted he would attend the talks if Putin showed up – the US president is on a four-day visit to the Middle East
Talks between Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations are still due to happen in Istanbul – while Zelensky is having separate talks with Turkey’s President Erdogan in Ankara
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the Turkish city of Antalya for Nato talks – this post sets out who is where in Turkey today.
● Putin briefs Russian delegation ahead of talks
The duration of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul will depend on their progress, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tells state news agency Tass.
He also says Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on preparations for the talks yesterday evening.
This was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrod, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, National Guard commander Viktor Zolotov, chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov, as well as the delegation ahead of travel to Istanbul.
● Putin not on list of Russian attendees – who is?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had challenged Vladimir Putin to come to Turkey in person, but instead his Russian counterpart is sending a very junior delegation.
Key names include the Russian presidential adviser, Vladimir Medinsky, the deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Galuzin and the deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin – a level of representation which the Ukrainians will see as an insult.
It’s extremely unlikely President Zelensky will meet them, but he may send a team of negotiators – especially given the mounting US pressure on Ukraine to talk to Russia.
Igor Kostyukov heads Russia’s Main Directorate of Intelligence – he plays a key role in the organisation of prisoner releases.
He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities” and then in 2018 for cyber-attacks and interference in the 2016 US elections that were won by Donald Trump.
In 2020, the European Union sanctioned him for stealing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s emails in a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament. [BBC]
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