Turkey negotiations could involve Trump and Putin under certain conditions — analyst

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV. 

"I personally do not rule out the possibility that, despite the fact that visits by Putin and Trump are currently not announced and are being denied, there is still a chance. I would point out that Trump himself has said he might visit, but later - not on the 15th, for example, but on the 16th or 17th, after the conclusion of his Arab tour. And during that timeframe, Putin could very well show up as well. Everything will depend on the work of the technical delegations today. If there are results, then everything could indeed be reformatted, and we might see the continuation of meetings in Istanbul or Ankara.

Note that even with Sybiha - where did the meeting with Rubio take place? In Antalya, where an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers is currently happening. So, in this situation, I believe the issue is definitely not closed. However, to be honest, I'm very pessimistic about it, because the chances of achieving real results during the technical delegations' meetings are extremely slim," he said.

Ihor Chalenko noted that Ukraine has not officially published its delegation composition, so it may still be subject to change.

He also did not rule out that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian president’s aide on foreign policy, former ambassador to the U.S. Yury Ushakov, might indeed arrive in Turkey.

"We’re seeing a consistent development of the negotiation track in Turkey. That is, if there are results today, I believe Lavrov will show up after all. Lavrov and Ushakov are most likely to attend, but tomorrow - specifically for the Rubio-Witkoff pair. And based on that, Trump’s participation is also quite possible - after the conclusion of his Arab tour. It’s clear that Trump won’t interrupt it, but on his way back, he could very well make a direct stop in Turkey. At this point, that seems the more likely scenario," the expert said.

Background

In a nighttime address on May 11, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed he was ready for direct talks with Ukraine in Turkey next week, but he dismissed the idea of a 30-day truce. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would keep working with both sides and predicted that the coming week would be “great.”

On May 12, the German government announced that if Russia did not agree to ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of the day, European partners would begin preparations for new sanctions. In contrast, the Kremlin stated that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia.”

Advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not meet with any Russian representative other than Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the talks in Istanbul with Kyiv should recognize the "realities on the ground," including Russia’s incorporation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he will visit Turkey on May 15 to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He also said he is ready to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.