US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a breakthrough in efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is only likely through direct talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the Kremlin sent a second-tier team to talks in Turkey.
Rubio, who spoke to reporters in Antalya, said he would travel to Istanbul for meetings on Friday with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Ukrainian delegation, but said he did not have high expectations for the talks.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a breakthrough here until the president (Trump) and President Putin interact directly on this topic,” Rubio said, echoing earlier comments from Trump.
The top US diplomat described the current state of the talks to end the war as a “logjam,” and said Trump was the only person who can break it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had travelled to Turkey after Putin proposed talks there, before the Russian president decided against travelling to the talks himself.
Putin instead dispatched a second-tier team of aides and deputy ministers to Istanbul.
Rubio said the level of the officials sent by Russia was not indicative of a breakthrough but said Trump was willing to stick with talks as long as it takes to achieve peace.
When asked if any efforts were under way to bring Trump and Putin together, Rubio said Trump was going to make decisions once his Middle East trip ends.
“Probably we’ll wait until he finishes with his trip … We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow, and then those decisions will be made about a timeline,” he said.
The Russian foreign ministry rejected criticism about the delegation that had been sent to Istanbul.
The most qualified experts have been dispatched to Turkey, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, according to the state-run news agency TASS.
These experts, she said, are prepared and competent to discuss all topics.
“International law, certainly. The situation on the ground, certainly. Questions of combat operations, certainly,” she explained.
Zelenskiy described the delegation as second-rate and had demanded the presence of Putin at the talks.
“We can’t be running around the world looking for Putin,” Zelenskiy said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
“I feel disrespect from Russia. No meeting time, no agenda, no high-level delegation – this is personal disrespect. To Erdogan, to Trump,” Zelenskiy told reporters.
Zelenskiy said he himself would also not now go to Istanbul and that his team’s mandate was to discuss a ceasefire.
It remains unclear whether and when the first direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in three years will take place.
The Russian delegation is at the hotel, waiting for developments, according to the Russian news agency Interfax, citing an unnamed source.
TASS, also citing an anonymous source, reported that negotiations would not begin until Friday.
The Russian delegation’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, was also involved in the fruitless negotiations in 2022 shortly after the war began.
Ukraine backs an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a truce could be discussed.
More than three years after its full-scale invasion, Russia has the advantage on the battlefield and says Ukraine could use a pause in the war to call up extra troops and acquire more foreign weapons.
with DPA
https://thewest.com.au/news/conflict/rubio-suggests-russia-ukraine-talks-at-logjam-c-18709182
