INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had sent a team to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with Russia in three years, but
played down expectations of a breakthrough, saying Moscow was "not serious" about ending the war.President Vladimir Putin rejected
Medinsky to lead the talks
Medinsky also headed the ill-fated 2022 peace talks with Ukraine shortly after the full-scale invasion.As the team of Russian
also attend, according to the Kremlin.The Kremlin released a video showing Putin meeting with the negotiation group late Wednesday
Several other top officials were seen present at that meeting, including Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, chief of the General Staff Valery
Gerasimov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov.Medinsky told state
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
right now, and we hope that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any
rumored to be taking place
the afternoon or evening on Thursday.Both Ukraine and Russia are trying to show U.S
President Donald Trump, who has called for a quick end to the war, that they are committed to finding a diplomatic solution to resolving the
However, after months of U.S.-led shuttle diplomacy and several rounds of mediated negotiations, the two warring sides do not appear any
closer to reaching a peace settlement than they did before Trump took office in January.Trump, who is touring the Middle East this week,
he told a business breakfast in Qatar
rejecting a Western-backed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that was supposed to begin on Monday
European leaders had threatened Russia with a new round of sanctions if it refused to back the truce.Zelensky initially appeared to catch
Moscow off guard when he agreed to the talks and then raised the stakes by challenging the Kremlin leader to meet with him face-to-face in
Those talks, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, failed to deliver any
Putin has repeatedly said that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader
Ukraine.AFP and Reuters contributed reporting.
