The Russian delegation will be led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and now chairman of the Russian Union of Writers.
10:46, Thu, May 15, 2025 | UPDATED: 10:48, Thu, May 15, 2025
The Kremlin says Putin will not attend peace talks in Istanbul (Image: Getty)
The Kremlin last night confirmed that Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks scheduled to take place on Thursday between Ukraine and Russia. Instead the Russian delegation will be led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky.
Medinsky is a former culture minister and now chairman of the Russian Union of Writers. He led the Russian delegation last time Moscow and Kyiv held face-to-face talks in 2022. Other members of Russia's negotiating team are reported to be the deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Galuzin and the deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin.
Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with Turkey's President Erdogan (Image: Getty)
Igor Kostyukov is also part of the delegation and is the head of Russia’s Main Directorate of Intelligence – a key player in organising prisoner releases.
The US President has hinted he may travel to Istanbul on Friday if talks make progress.
He pressured Ukraine's President Zelensky to attend the meeting in Istanbul, but issued no such command to Russia's leader.
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Russia's low-level delegation has been roundly criticised by Western politicians, who say Putin is not serious about peace in Ukraine.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna described the diplomatic move as “like a slap in the face”.
Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said there was no indication that Putin wanted to halt hostilities and that it was important to weaken Russia’s military capabilities.
“Weakening Russia’s military capabilities is the most direct and cheapest way … to achieve peace in Ukraine,” Braze told reporters on Thursday ahead of an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey.
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Doubts are growing that the meeting will take place at all between the two warring sides.
However, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations will begin this afternoon, after some slight delays.
Zelensky is currently holding separate talks with Turkey's President Erdogan in Ankara, and it remains to be seen if he will join the Istanbul talks without Putin's attendance.
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