Russia approves delegation for talks in Türkiye – Putin not on list

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has approved the composition of the Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Türkiye on 15 May. Putin himself is not on the list.

Source: Kremlin press service

Details: Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky has been appointed as the head of the delegation. He led the Russian negotiating group in 2022 when Ukrainian and Russian delegations met.

The delegation also includes: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Igor Kostyukov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.

The document also lists a group of "experts" for the talks: Alexander Zorin, First Deputy Head of the Information Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Elena Podobryevskaya, Deputy Head of the Presidential Directorate for State Humanitarian Policy; Alexei Polishchuk, Director of the Second Department for CIS Countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry, and Vladimir Shevtsov, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation at the Russian Defence Ministry.

Background: 

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in his address on 14 May that he was waiting for Russia to announce who will represent its side at the talks in Türkiye before deciding on Ukraine’s course of action.
• Zelenskyy said he is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Thursday, but if Russian ruler Vladimir Putin agrees to come to Istanbul, both he and Erdoğan will fly there to meet him.
• Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that a refusal by Putin to come to the talks in Türkiye would indicate that Russia does not want to end the war.

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