A doubtlessly momentous day is predicted tomorrow, and whereas lots of uncertainty entails the Istanbul peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine – and doubtlessly mediated by america – to this point, the occasion hasn’t been cancelled, and all three nations are gearing as much as it.
Each US President Donald J. Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are usually not confirmed presences to the negotiations.

Trump has stated greater than as soon as that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely be there, ‘amongst others’. It’s been reported that each Envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg would journey to Istanbul.
Reuters reported:
“U.S. officers are hoping Russia will conform to a complete 30-day land, air, sea and significant infrastructure ceasefire, a senior U.S. official stated, including that Kyiv has already agreed to abide by such a deal.”

Kellogg: “We’re hoping President Putin reveals up as properly, after which President Trump will likely be there. This could possibly be a fully unbelievable assembly. We will get peace, I actually consider, fairly quick if all three leaders sit down and speak.”
“Trump had stated on Monday he would fly to Istanbul for the assembly if essential. He’s within the Center East area this week for conferences with officers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.”
Putin needs Trump on the assembly pic.twitter.com/3muvEoACMa
— Karli Bonne’ (@KarluskaP) May 14, 2025

BBC reported:
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated he’ll journey to Turkey’s capital Ankara to fulfill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and will likely be out there for direct talks along with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Istanbul on Thursday.
‘We are going to do every part to make sure that this assembly takes place,” he instructed reporters in a hastily-arranged briefing in Kiev’.”
When Putin proposed direct talks in Turkey with out pre-conditions, Zelensky determined to one-up him and go in particular person, accusing Putin of ‘being scared’ to fulfill him.
“US President Donald Trump, who’s on a go to to the Gulf, has hinted that he may fly to Istanbul himself ‘if I believe issues can occur’.”

In a special Reuters report, “U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had been nonetheless “maybes” for what could possibly be the primary direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years after the Kremlin on Wednesday held off disclosing who would symbolize Russia.”
“Unconfirmed Russian and U.S. media reviews have stated that Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s overseas coverage aide, will likely be in Istanbul and able to meet their Ukrainian counterparts.
Requested by reporters in a each day briefing on Wednesday if the Kremlin may reveal the make-up of the Russian delegation, spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated: ‘We are going to try this after we get an instruction to take action from the president’.”
UPDATE: Russian sources say that Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation.
RT reported:
“Putin CONFIRMS delegation for Istanbul talks with Ukraine. Vladimir Medinsky’s main the staff.
He’d been chief negotiator again in 2022, earlier than West shot down these talks.”
Sputkin reported:
“Vladimir Putin approves the lineup of the Russian delegation for the Istanbul talks
President Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, will lead the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine, simply as he did in 2022. The Russian delegation to the Istanbul negotiations will embrace Mikhail Galuzin (Deputy Minister of Overseas Affairs), Igor Kostyukov (Head of the Essential Directorate of the Basic Workers of the Armed Forces), and Alexander Fomin (Deputy Minister of Protection).“
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