Putin’s no-show throws talks into confusion

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a second-tier team of aides and deputy ministers to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey yesterday, spurning Kyiv's challenge to go there in person to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Putin's no-show plunged prospects for the talks - which would be the first since the early weeks of the war - into confusion. Russia said they would take place in Istanbul in the second half of the day, but Turkey said no meeting was scheduled yet.

Zelensky, arriving in the Turkish capital Ankara, described the Russian line-up - excluding Putin, his foreign minister and his top foreign policy adviser - as "decorative". He said Ukraine would decide its next move on talks with Russia after he had met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

The US president said yesterday he would go to the talks in Turkey today if it was "appropriate".

"We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions," he said.

Asked what his message to Putin would be, Zelensky told reporters at the airport: "I'm here. I think this is a clear message."

Russia said its team was in Istanbul and ready for serious work, and accused Ukraine of "trying to put on a show" around the negotiations.

Both sides have been wrestling for months over the logistics of ceasefires and peace talks while trying to show US President Donald Trump they are serious about trying to end what he calls "this stupid war".

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded on both sides in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Washington has threatened repeatedly to abandon its mediation efforts unless there is clear progress.