Zelensky sends a delegation led by the Defense Minister to Istanbul

Zelensky accused Russia of not taking the negotiations seriously after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected his invitation.

Ukraine will send a delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to talks with Russia in Istanbul on Thursday, which will also include representatives of the military and intelligence services, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in Ankara.

"I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul," Zelensky said at a press conference in the Turkish capital after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Ukrainian president explained that the meeting could take place either this Thursday or Friday and that it should include representatives from Türkiye and the United States.

Zelensky accused Russia of not taking the negotiations seriously, having rejected President Vladimir Putin's invitation to meet with him personally and having sent a delegation in which no member reaches the rank of minister.

The Ukrainian president also explained that the Ukrainian delegation's priority will be to agree on the ceasefire declaration that kyiv has been demanding for weeks in order to begin negotiating an end to the war.

Zelensky emphasized that the president himself, the chief of the General Staff, the defense and foreign ministers, and the heads of the secret services traveled to Turkey from Kiev for the negotiations, and explained that he had not sent the entire team from Ankara to Istanbul because the Russian delegation was not at the same level.

The Russian negotiating team in the Turkish city will be led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, the same person who led the negotiations with Kyiv in Istanbul in 2022.

In addition to Medinsky, the Russian delegation will include a deputy foreign minister, a deputy defense minister, and a senior official from the Russian Army General Staff.