Ukraine peace talks mired in confusion as Putin stays away

Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged Putin to meet him in person in Istanbul, but the Russian president will skip the talks

U.S. Embassy and Turkey officials greet Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives, Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Antalya, Turkey, to attend an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. (Ozan Kose/Pool via AP)

Russian president Vladimir Putin sent aides and deputy ministers to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday, spurning Kyiv's challenge to go there in person to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul and Zelenskyy had said he would be waiting for the Kremlin leader. But after keeping the world guessing for days about Putin's plans, the Kremlin late on Wednesday named a delegation that did not include the president.