Peace talks: Ukraine, Russia trade words over Putin’s absence

Russia and Ukraine traded insults on Thursday over President Vladimir Putin’ absence in peace talks as negotiators were due to meet in Turkey for the first direct peace talks in more than three years.

Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Turkish capital, Ankara, for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ALSO READ: Trump, Putin to be absent from Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks in Istanbul

Zelensky said that Ukraine is in contact with the US delegation regarding talks with Russia.

Zelensky, speaking about Russia’s delegation in Istanbul, said: “Officially, I’m not aware of the Russian’s level [of representation]. But from what we’ve seen they look like stand-in props.”

Several high-profile events are taking place in Turkiye: Antalya is hosting a NATO foreign ministerial, Zelensky is meeting Erdogan in Ankara while Ukrainian and Russian officials are expected to meet in Istanbul for direct talks.

The exchange of personal barbs as a result of Putin’s absence in peace talks, undermines the chances of any breakthrough.

Putin will not be attending, despite days of international pressure.

Instead Russia’s negotiating team, which touched down in Istanbul on Thursday morning, is led by a hardline historian and Kremlin aide who has denied Ukraine’s right to exist.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova hit back at Zelensky’s criticism of Moscow’s delegation almost immediately.

Speaking at a briefing in Moscow, she called him a “dummy”, a “clown” and a “loser”.

Lavrov called Zelensky “pathetic” for trying to persuade Putin to turn up in person.

“At first Zelensky made some kind of statements that demanded Putin come personally. Well, a pathetic person,” he said in a televised address to diplomats in Moscow.

Trump, who has been pushing for a swift end to the three-year war, said he might go to Turkey if he saw meaningful progress.

“You know, if something happened, I’d go on Friday,” Trump said in Qatar.

Speaking at a NATO meeting in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was “impatient” and willing to consider “any mechanism” to achieve a lasting end to the war.

He is expected in Istanbul on Friday “for meetings with European counterparts to discuss the conflict in Ukraine”, according to the US State Department said.

Putin himself made the surprise call for direct negotiations after Kyiv and European leaders pressured him to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Despite the flurry of diplomacy, Moscow and Kyiv’s positions remain far apart.

US President, Donald Trump said he was keeping open the possibility of travelling to Turkey on Friday if there was any meaningful progress.

But Putin’s absence, as well as any top diplomats such as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, would seem to diminish the talks’ importance or any possibility of a breakthrough.

Russia said the negotiations would take place in the “second half of the day”, while Zelensky said he would decide on his approach only after he meets Erdogan.

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