NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Istanbul for peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin said.

This ends the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, the first proposed since the start of the war. There had also been long-standing speculation that the two leaders could be joined by US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a visit to Middle Eastern nations.

Instead, the Kremlin announced late on Wednesday that its delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a close aide to Putin who also headed the last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.

Tough negotiators in Russian delegation

Medinsky will be accompanied by Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, and Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia’s military intelligence agency.

Zelenskyy was travelling to Ankara on Wednesday evening and is all set meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.

If Putin does not come, he doesn’t want peace: Zelenskyy. Earlier, the Ukrainian president said he is ready to travel to Istanbul at any time if the Russian leader agrees to come.

“If Putin does not arrive and play games, it is final proof that he does not want to end the war,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.

Russia’s decision to send Medinsky to lead the talks indicates it wants to revive negotiations similar to the unproductive 2022 Istanbul meeting. That round included extreme demands, such as limiting Ukraine’s military and blocking its rebuilding with Western support—terms Ukraine has rejected.

Notably, the Kremlin is not sending its top diplomats, Yuri Ushakov and Sergei Lavrov, who have previously taken part in high-level talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

Trump also to skip Istanbul visit after Putin’s no-show

Shortly after, a US official said Donald Trump would also not attend the talks. Earlier, Trump stated he would travel to Turkey only if Putin were present.

Trump had suggested he might attend the meeting in Istanbul while on a four-day visit to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. However, there was no confirmation from his team regarding his participation.

Putin and Zelenskyy last met in December 2019, and there have been no direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since March 2022, a month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.