Zelensky to send delegation led by Umerov to Istanbul

The head of state made this statement during a press conference following negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

“I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul now, though not everyone, of course. The Head of the Security Service and the Chief of the General Staff will not be there. The delegation will be led by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, despite the fact that, frankly, there will be no counterpart from the Russian side,” Zelensky said.

He explained that the decision to send a delegation led by the Defense Minister was based on the need to negotiate not only with Russians but also with representatives of Turkey and the United States.

“As for the agenda, their mandate will be a ceasefire — that’s number one,” the President stated, adding that he still believes “Russia continues to treat these meetings unseriously.”

“They don’t want to end the war, but we hope they will at least demonstrate something during the meeting,” Zelensky noted.

As previously reported, on May 10, Ukraine — together with its allies France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland — proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. In the event of a refusal, Ukraine’s allies intend to tighten sanctions against Russia.

Later, Vladimir Putin proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine “where they were interrupted” in 2022 — in Istanbul, Türkiye.

President Zelensky said he hoped Russia would begin a ceasefire starting Monday and that he would personally wait for Vladimir Putin in Türkiye on May 15.

However, the Russian President instead sent a delegation to Istanbul headed by his aide Vladimir Medinsky. Other members of the delegation include Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.