Putin will not meet with Zelensky

Putin to Skip Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced he will not take part in peace talks in Turkey between Moscow and Kyiv today, despite pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend.

White House officials said that US President Donald Trump will also not go to Turkey for the talks after Putin announced the list of Russian attendees, all of whom are relatively low-level officials.

Putin first proposed holding direct talks between Russia and Ukraine — “without preconditions” — last Sunday, in response to a demand from Ukraine’s western allies for a 30-day ceasefire in the war. He said the negotiations would be held on Thursday in Turkey.

The Russian president said their purpose would be “to remove the root causes of the conflict and move towards creating a long-term, durable peace in a historical perspective.”

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