Putin Set to Skip Russia–Ukraine Peace Talks in Turkey: Kremlin

Both Washington and Kyiv have called for leader-level meetings to hammer out a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 11, 2025. Sergey Bobylev/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Russia–Ukraine peace talks in Turkey this week, according to a Russian delegation list published late on May 14 by the Kremlin, despite Ukraine’s demands and Western pressure.

The Kremlin’s Telegram channel announced on May 14 that presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led unsuccessful talks with Ukraine in 2022, will head Russia’s delegation to peace talks in Istanbul. The delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and Russian military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, supported by expert advisers from the Foreign and Defense Ministries and the presidential administration.