Russian dictator Vladimir Putin did not take the opportunity to achieve peace after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to meet with him in Istanbul and sent a low-level delegation to Turkey for negotiations. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a press conference in Antalya, reports UNN.
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Turkey certainly plays a very big role. Today's meeting in Istanbul is the result of this. The meeting of foreign ministers was very well organized here. This does not mean that other countries are not involved either. No, we have a "coalition of the willing", which includes Turkey, which, you know, started with the organization of France and Great Britain. And we are doing everything to ensure that when there is a ceasefire or a peace agreement, that peace is long, so that there is no repetition of what we had in 2014. In addition, now the ball is on the side of Russia. They are sending a low-level delegation and are not taking advantage of the opportunity provided by President Zelenskyy. He (Zelenskyy - ed.) said: "I am ready to sit next to Putin." As soon as there is a ceasefire, we are ready to negotiate a peace agreement. That is, Ukraine is ready. But now the ball is on the side of Russia, as I said
He also stressed that he is grateful to the United States for clearly focusing their attention on ending the war.
Let us remind you
On Friday, May 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at Ankara airport.
He also stated that his presence in Turkey is already a "very clear message" to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not participate in Ukrainian-Russian negotiations in Istanbul on May 15. The Russian delegation will be headed by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky. The delegation also included the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the level of the Russian delegation looks like a stage prop. Ukraine will consider further steps after the conversation with Turkish President Erdogan.