Ukrainian leadership holds high-level talks in Türkiye’s Istanbul with US, European security chiefs

Senior Ukrainian officials are in Istanbul, Türkiye for high-level diplomatic meetings, having already held talks with US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg and national security advisors from Germany, the UK and France.  

Among the senior Ukrainian officials are Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

On May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow is proposing the resumption of direct talks with the Ukrainian authorities—talks that were unilaterally suspended by Kyiv in 2022—without any preconditions.

The Kremlin suggested May 15 in Istanbul as the date and venue for negotiations aimed at addressing the root causes of the conflict and potentially reaching a ceasefire. The Russian delegation was reportedly prepared to begin dialogue on the morning of May 15, but the Ukrainian side did not show up. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially intended to travel to Istanbul in person but later changed course, appointing a delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to take part in the talks instead. 

By Naila Huseynova