President Volodymyr Zelensky provoked Vladimir Putin by claiming the Russian leader was afraid to see him in person when he stated on Tuesday that he would only attend discussions with Russia this week over the conflict in Ukraine if Putin was also there.
More than three years into the worst battle in Europe since World War Two, the Kremlin has not yet confirmed whether Putin would participate in the negotiations that are set to take place in Istanbul on Thursday.
Under the leadership of US President Donald Trump, who has promised to participate and stated he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the scheduled discussions have taken centre stage in peace efforts. Additionally, according to three people familiar with the arrangements, Trump is sending top envoys Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff.
According to Zelensky, Putin should participate in negotiations as “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on him, and he wants to negotiate an unconditional 30-day truce as a first step towards resolving the conflict. At a news conference, Zelensky stated, “We want to agree on a beginning to the end of the war.” “He (Putin) is scared of direct talks with me,” he continued.
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