Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday stressed that ceasefire remains his priority, but Russia “does not genuinely want to end war”. He made the remark as he announced that a Ukrainian delegation will hold talks with Russia in Istanbul in order to achieve a ceasefire.
The delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and will include military and intelligence officials. The talks are scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy thanked Turkey for extending support to Ukraine and said that President Erdogan had stressed his support for Kyiv and that he recognises Crimea as part of Ukraine.
“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,” Zelenskyy’s post read.
“I want to emphasise that Turkiye has welcomed us with a delegation of equal standing — at the highest level. Unfortunately, after learning the composition of the Russian delegation, it became clear that they are not approaching real talks seriously,” the post added.
I want to sincerely thank President @RTErdogan, his team, and the people of Türkiye for their support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. President Erdoğan reaffirmed during our meeting today that he supports Ukraine and recognises Crimea as part of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/jAdXRv6vio
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 15, 2025
Ukraine Proceeding With Talks ‘Out Of Respect’ For Trump, Erdogan
The Ukrainian President also emphasised that Kyiv is proceeding with the talks with Russia only “out of respect” for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump. However, he said that all the members of the delegation will not be participating in the talks.
“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,” Zelenskyy said.
“Not all members of our delegation will go: the Head of the Security Service and the Chief of the General Staff will not attend. However, 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,” he added.
Zelenskyy went on to allege that Russia is not taking the talks seriously and “does not genuinely want to end the war.”
“As for the agenda, 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,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years today. Zelenskyy has decided to send a delegation led by his defence minister even after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by him to meet face-to-face in Turkiye. Ahead of talks, Zelenskyy has repeatedly accused Russia of not making efforts to end the war.
Meanwhile, Russia’s team will be headed by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister, who stated that he talks with Kyiv are a “continuation” of failed negotiations in 2022.
