U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Istanbul ahead of settlements focused on ending the war in Ukraine, after talks at first scheduled for Thursday were pressed to Friday to accommodate the incoming Ukrainian delegation.Rubio is not anticipated to participate in the preliminary of direct talks in between Russia and Ukraine, but said he and other U.S.
officials would meet separately with Ukrainian and Turkish officials in the morning.Director for Policy Planning Michael Anton will represent the United States in working-level talks with theRussian delegation in Istanbul on Friday, U.S.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said a meeting in between Turkish, U.S.
and Ukrainian authorities would take place at 10:45 a.m.
local time, followed by talks in between Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian delegations at 12:30 p.m.On Thursday, Rubio consulted with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha in Antalya on the sidelines of a NATO meeting.
The top U.S.
diplomat said Washington was growing restless with stalled peace efforts and was now open to virtually any system that could result in a breakthrough.I dont believe we do not have high expectations of what will take place tomorrow.
And frankly, at this moment, I believe its perfectly clear that the only method were going to have an advancement here is in between President Trump and President Putin, Rubio informed reporters in Antalya.His remarks came shortly after U.S.
President Donald Trump, who is touring the Middle East this week, stated absolutely nothings going to occur until Putin and I get together.
On Friday, Trump said he would return to Washington, D.C.
after having earlier floatedthe idea of going to the negotiations in Turkey if Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted be present.The Kremlin leader rejected Zelenskys provide to meet with him personally during the settlements and instead tapped his assistant and previous culture minister Vladimir Medinsky to lead the talks.
Medinsky also headed Russias 2022 peace talks with Ukraine, which eventually collapsed.Putin proposed direct settlements with Kyiv during a surprise address at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, successfully declining a Western-backed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that was supposed to start this week.Reuters and AFP contributed reporting.