Zelenskyy calls on Putin to send delegation "with real authority" for talks

President Zelenskyy made the statement on social media.

He emphasized that Putin missed the opportunity to take real steps towards ending the war.

“This week, we had a real chance to move toward ending the war — if only Putin hadn’t been afraid to come to Türkiye. I was in Ankara yesterday – and I thank President Erdogan for his participation and hospitality – and I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin in Ankara or Istanbul. And not just for a meeting, but to address all the key issues, in my opinion. But he refused to agree to anything. I mean Putin,” Zelenskyy said.

Despite the lack of real decision-makers in the Russian delegation, the Ukrainian team still went to the negotiations, which, however, yielded no results.

“Everyone could see that the Russian delegation in Istanbul was of a very low level. None of them were people who actually make decisions in Russia. Still, I sent our team, led by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, to at least find out whether those Russians could actually decide anything,” the President wrote.

He called on Putin to send a delegation with real authority for negotiations.

“Ukraine is ready to take all realistic steps to end this war. I called-on Putin to give his delegation real authority,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul

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 a 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. Later, Zelenskyy himself confirmed his personal visit to Turkey for a meeting with Putin.

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.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if his meeting with the Russian leader takes place on May 15 in Turkey, the main topics of discussion will be a complete ceasefire and a full exchange of prisoners of war.

On the evening of May 14, the Russian Federation announced the composition of its delegation for talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.

Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not be present during the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey on May 15.

On May 16, a trilateral meeting of delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and Turkey took place in Istanbul. Following this, negotiations between representatives of Russia and Ukraine began, with some delay.