Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough in the three-year Russia-Ukraine war faded Thursday after both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to attend a long-anticipated summit in Istanbul, Turkey.
Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet face-to-face to discuss a ceasefire, pledging to attend personally if Putin agreed. However, Putin declined the invitation, sending a lower-level delegation led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky instead. Zelensky, who traveled to Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized Moscow’s delegation as “decorative” and lacking decision-making authority, accusing Russia of showing disrespect to both Ukraine and international mediators like Turkey and the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump, currently touring the Middle East, suggested that no significant progress would occur without a personal meeting between himself and Putin, casting further uncertainty over the talks.
