U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his views on the upcoming negotiations in Istanbul regarding the situation in Ukraine, noting that he approaches them with cautious optimism. He emphasized that, in his opinion, the only chance for significant progress lies in direct negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Rubio, Moscow has already sent a second-tier team to Turkey, complicating the possibility of a quick resolution to the conflict.
This is reported by Kyiv24
He stated that he will travel to Istanbul on May 16 for meetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Ukrainian delegation.
“In my assessment, I don’t think we will see a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin begin to engage directly on this issue”
. He added that without the personal involvement of the leaders of the U.S. and Russia, it is difficult to expect substantial results in negotiations regarding Ukraine.
Negotiation Context and Global Leaders’ Reactions
Earlier, on May 15, Donald Trump stated that progress in negotiations regarding Ukraine is unlikely until a meeting with Putin occurs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described the level of the Russian delegation led by Vladimir Putin’s assistant, Vladimir Medinsky, as “tokenistic”. Zelensky also expressed his willingness to meet with Putin in Turkey, but currently, the Russian president has no plans to travel to Istanbul. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, confirmed that there is no meeting of the leaders of both countries planned in the near future.
Thus, the process of peace negotiations remains complex and depends on the direct actions of the leadership of the U.S. and Russia, as well as the stance of Ukrainian officials regarding potential meetings and negotiations in Turkey.