NATO secretary general slams Putin for sending low-level delegation to talks with Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for sending a lower-ranked negotiating team to the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in three years, calling the decision a "big mistake" during a European leaders' meeting in Tirana, Albania. 

He added that Putin must take the prospect of peace seriously and emphasised that the pressure is now squarely on the Russian president, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

The Russian delegation is headed by Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. It also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation  Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. In contrast, the Ukrainian team is led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

The Ukrainian delegation also includes Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who has recently been in Antalya for meetings with NATO member state counterparts, as well as Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. The US is represented at the talks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, recently appointed Ambassador to Türkiye Thomas J. Barrack and US Presidential Special Envoy Keith Kellogg.

By Naila Huseynova