Rubio explains why he will not attend talks with Russia in Istanbul
16 May 01:12
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the talks between Russia and Ukraine on Friday, May 16. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to CNN.
“They sent a lower-level group here. I hope that these talks will be between Ukraine and Russia, with our Turkish counterparts in the room, as well as someone from our team or members of our team at the appropriate level,” he said.
Rubio also said that he did not expect a breakthrough in the talks on the war in Ukraine until US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin meet “face to face.”
“We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow, and then a decision will be made on the timing and when and where those meetings will take place,” Rubio said.
Rubio is likely to be absent from the talks because the Russians sent a “lower-level” delegation.
At the same time, the US Secretary of State said he would meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and representatives of the Ukrainian delegation on May 16.
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What to expect in Istanbul
On the night of May 11, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced his readiness for direct talks with the Ukrainian side, which are to take place in Istanbul on May 15. However, in his statement, he did not mention a single word about a possible 30-day ceasefire, as the Ukrainian side and its partners want.
US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine must urgently agree to the talks in Turkey proposed by Putin for May 15. At the same time, the American president did not pay attention to the absence of a 30-day truce clause in the Kremlin’s proposal.
Nevertheless, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed and wrote that he would personally wait for Putin in Turkey to meet on May 15. At the same time, he expressed hope that the ceasefire would begin on May 12.
The Kremlin has officially confirmed that it is preparing for the talks, but has not said who will attend them.
Russia has not accepted the ceasefire.
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