ISTANBUL/ANKARA šC Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Zelenskyy said his defense minister would head up Kyiv¡¯s team.
They will be the first direct talks between the sides since March 2022, but hopes of a major breakthrough were further dented by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Putin.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later echoed that view, telling reporters in the Turkish resort of Antalya that Washington ¡°didn¡¯t have high expectations¡± for the Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
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