Kyiv [Ukraine]: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that a Ukrainian delegation will participate in ceasefire talks with Russia in Istanbul, Turkey, later today. The negotiations aim to explore the possibility of halting hostilities in Ukraine amid growing international pressure for peace.
The Ukrainian team will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and will include senior military and intelligence officials. The announcement was confirmed by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry and reported by DW News, citing the German news agency dpa.
In a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter), Zelenskyy thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for hosting the talks and reiterated Ukraine’s gratitude for Turkey’s support of its sovereignty, particularly its recognition of Crimea as part of Ukraine.
“I want to sincerely thank President @RTErdogan, his team, and the people of Turkiye for their support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“President Erdogan reaffirmed during our meeting today that he supports Ukraine and recognises Crimea as part of Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy also provided insight into the high-level composition of the Ukrainian delegation:
“We demonstrated the strength and seriousness of our delegation, which includes: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Head of the Office of the President, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and representatives of all our intelligence agencies.”
Concerns Over Russia’s Commitment
However, Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about Russia’s seriousness, criticizing the level and makeup of the Kremlin’s delegation:
“Unfortunately, after learning the composition of the Russian delegation, it became clear that they are not approaching real talks seriously.”
Despite these doubts, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine would attend the talks “out of respect” for President Erdogan and US President Donald Trump, who he acknowledged as playing roles in the diplomatic effort.
“Nevertheless, despite the extremely low level of the Russian delegation, out of respect—for President Trump, for the high-level delegations present in Turkiye, and for President Erdogan—and out of a sincere desire to take at least the first steps toward de-escalation and ending the war, beginning with a ceasefire, I have decided to send a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul.”
Notably, the Chief of the General Staff and the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine will not be attending, Zelenskyy confirmed.
“The Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul will be led by the Minister of Defence, Rustem Umerov. He will be joined by military professionals and intelligence officers.”
Zelenskyy concluded with a stark message:
“The mandate for our delegation is clear: ceasefire is priority number one. I remain convinced that Russia is not serious about these meetings and does not genuinely want to end the war. But we’ll see if they are willing to show at least something during the discussions.”