The United States Secretary of State (USA) Marco Rubio will not be present in Istanbul for negotiations with Russia on Friday, May 16, because the Kremlin "sent a lower-level group." This is reported by CNN, reports UNN.
Details
On Thursday, May 15, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that on May 16 he plans to meet in Istanbul with the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha and representatives of the Ukrainian delegation, but does not intend to meet with the Russians personally.
Someone from our team will participate in the negotiations regarding Russia. They sent a lower-level group here. I hope that these negotiations will take place between Ukraine and Russia, with our Turkish colleagues, as well as with someone from our team or members of our team at the appropriate level
According to the US Secretary of State, he initially planned a visit to Istanbul for a meeting of the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of NATO countries.
"We came because we were told that there might be direct interaction between the Russians and the Ukrainians. That's how it was originally planned. You all heard the same thing. This did not happen. And if it does, it will not be at the level we expected. I hope I'm wrong," Marco Rubio added.
Reminder
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he does not expect a breakthrough in negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation until US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin interact directly.