Negotiations between Ukraine, US and Turkey begin in Istanbul
Trilateral negotiations between delegations of Ukraine, the United States of America (US) and Turkey have begun in Istanbul. This is indicated in a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Friday, May 16.
In particular, the following are taking part in the negotiations:
- from Ukraine - the head of the President's Office Andrii Yermak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, advisor to the President's Office Head Oleksandr Bevz and Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov;
- from the US - Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg;
- from Turkey - the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Hakan Fidan and the head of Turkish intelligence.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, late in the evening of May 14, the russian side announced that dictator vladimir putin had approved the composition of the delegation for negotiations with Ukraine, headed by his assistant Vladimir Medinsky.
On May 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Ankara, Turkey, to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and called the russian delegation for negotiations with Ukraine "a sham."
However, Zelenskyy later decided to send a delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to Istanbul for negotiations with the russian side.