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Kremlin Rejects Zelenskyy’s Istanbul Peace Summit Proposal, Calls It “Political Theater”

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Vlad Litnarovych
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Kremlin Rejects Zelenskyy’s Istanbul Peace Summit Proposal, Calls It “Political Theater”
Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, and Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister, left to right, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 10, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

The Kremlin has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to hold direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on May 15, with top Russian officials denouncing the idea as political theater and insisting Moscow will not engage under any form of pressure, Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Federation Council, dismissed Zelenskyy’s proposal, calling it “comedy and spectacle,” Russian state media TASS reported on May 12.

Moscow issued its response shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a video address that he would travel to Türkiye on Thursday and stated that he expected Russian leader Vladimir Putin to join him there for direct talks.

“I will be in Türkiye this Thursday, May 15, and I expect Putin to come to Türkiye as well — in person. I hope that this time, Putin won’t look for excuses for why he ‘can’t’ come,” Zelenskyy said.

“High-level meetings, especially under such difficult circumstances, are absolutely not arranged this way,” Kosachev said, pointing to the long diplomatic groundwork that preceded previous potential summits between Putin and US President Donald Trump.

Kosachev accused Zelenskyy of attempting to “shift blame” onto Russia and questioned the sincerity of the Ukrainian leader’s intentions. “Zelenskyy doesn’t need a meeting with the Russian president — not at all. In fact, he should be afraid of such a meeting,” he added.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chair of the Federation Council’s foreign affairs committee, rejected the notion entirely, saying Zelenskyy had not been invited to Istanbul in the first place.

“Who invited him to Istanbul? Does he really think our president would meet personally with someone who has blood on his hands, who betrayed the memory of the great heroism of both Ukrainians and the entire Soviet people — the heroism of his own grandfather? Who is he, that we should sit down with him at the negotiating table?” Dzhabarov said.

He characterized Zelenskyy’s statement as a ploy to later claim he was ready for talks, adding, “Negotiations will take place, but through designated representatives, as has happened before.”

Another Federation Council official, Andrey Klimov, said the possibility of a meeting wasn’t entirely off the table, but unlikely.

“There is a chance [it could happen], but it’s not 100 percent, because everything could run into Kyiv’s obstinacy. Fine, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin comes. Zelenskyy comes. And then what? How are the talks supposed to proceed? Will others be involved? Trump will be nearby at the time — will he want to participate? There are still many, many questions,” Klimov said.

Earlier, Zelenskyy called Russia’s proposal for direct peace talks a “good sign,” but stressed that negotiations can only proceed if Moscow confirms a full and lasting ceasefire starting May 12.

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