Watch live: Zelensky holds press conference after Putin shuns Russia Ukraine peace talks in Turkey
Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference after Vladimir Putin shuned Russia Ukraine peace talks in Turkey on Thursday (15 May).
Mr Zelensky derided Russia’s delegation for peace talks in Istanbul as “stand-in props”, moments after landing in Ankara for a meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Officially, I’m not aware of the Russian’s level [of representation]. But from what we’ve seen they look like stand-in props,” Mr Zelensky told reporters upon arrival.
The Kremlin said on Thursday Putin had no plans to travel to Istanbul for talks with Ukraine despite the Russian leader on the weekend calling for direct talks to take place in Turkey, which prompted Mr Zelensky’s earlier challenge for Putin to negotiate with him face to face.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said a peace deal isn’t going to happen until he and Putin “get together”.
Trump said he wasn’t disappointed by the Russian leader’s absence: “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay? And obviously he wasn’t going to go.”
