Zelenskyy to decide next steps on peace talks after meeting with Erdoğan - Source says

According to the source, President Zelenskyy's first meeting in Türkiye will take place around 1:00 p.m. with Erdoğan.

"That's when everything will be decided - what the next steps are, not before," the source said.

This morning, Russians spread a fake story online claiming that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul would begin at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time. However, the Head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, denied this.

According to Kovalenko, no such time had been scheduled. He did not rule out that the Russians are trying to manipulate the topic of negotiations with Ukraine by pushing the narrative that "everyone wants talks except Ukraine."

Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Türkiye

Today, May 15, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in Turkey, expecting a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. As Zelenskyy previously stated, he would first meet with Turkish President Erdoğan in Ankara, then wait for Putin. Zelenskyy emphasized that he is ready to travel to Istanbul for negotiations only if the Russian President is there.

Last week, Putin proposed to resume direct Ukraine-Russia negotiations on May 15 in Istanbul. He ignored the ultimatum from Ukraine and Europe regarding a ceasefire.

Zelenskyy agreed to a meeting in Türkiye but only with Putin. Ukrainian President emphasized that he would not meet with Kremlin envoys.

Until the very last moment, it remained unclear whether the Russian dictator himself would attend. Late in the evening of May 14, the Kremlin released the list of Russia's delegation: it is led by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky, who previously participated in negotiations with Ukraine in 2022. Putin himself is not expected to be present.

To find more on the negotiations in Istanbul and what Ukraine should expect, read our material on the topic.