Seoul Gazette - Rubio has no high expectations for Ukraine-Russia talks

Russia's President Vladimir Putin decided against going to Istanbul and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky sent the country's defence minister but it was unclear what kind of talks would be held between the rivals who have been at war for more than three years.

Turkish officials said that "trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are on the agenda" for Friday and there would be talks between US, Ukrainian and Turkish officials.

But Rubio told reporters in Turkey "I want to be frank... we don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow".

US President Donald Trump also appeared to concede that progress on ending the war was unlikely until he could meet Putin.

Zelensky said that Russia was "not serious" about ending the war.

"Unfortunately, they are not taking the real negotiations very seriously," Zelensky told reporters after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Out of respect" for Erdogan and Trump, Zelensky said he would send a delegation led by Defence Minister Rusten Umerov to the Istanbul talks.

The Russian side is led by Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to Putin who has questioned Ukraine's right to exist and led failed talks in 2022 just after Russia launched its invasion.

The Russian delegation met Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, his spokesman said, after a long wait for the Ukrainians at the talks venue in Istanbul.

A Turkish foreign ministry source indicated the expected meetings on Friday. "Tomorrow there will be more talks in different formats," the source said.

In a televised briefing for Russian media in Istanbul, Medinsky said: "Tomorrow morning, literally from 10 am, we will be waiting for the Ukrainian side, which has to show up to the meeting."

- 'Dummy' delegation -

Tens of thousands have been killed since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and Russia now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine's territory.

There have been no direct peace talks since the first weeks of the war and the two sides' positions appear to have grown further apart since then.

Setting the tone before the talks, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Zelensky a "clown" and "loser".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Zelensky "pathetic" for trying to persuade Putin to turn up in person.

But Zelensky insisted: "I believe that the Kremlin leader must demonstrate his leadership. If he is ready for negotiations, then we must meet.

"A ceasefire is the priority," added Zelensky. "Although I still believe that Russia continues to treat these meetings unseriously and does not want to end the war."

Trump said only a meeting between himself and Putin could produce meaningful progress.

"I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Zelensky is due to attend a meeting of European leaders in the Albanian capital on Friday. Rubio, who is due in Istanbul on Friday, warned again at a NATO meeting in Antalya that Washington was growing "impatient" over efforts to end the conflict.

- 'Compromises' -

Putin had made the surprise call for direct negotiations after Kyiv and European leaders pressured him to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The Kremlin's naming of Medinsky as its top negotiator suggested Moscow does not plan to make concessions. Although a hardline aide to Putin, he is not a major decision-maker.

Outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, Medinsky told reporters Russia saw the talks as a continuation of failed 2022 negotiations and that he was ready for "possible compromises".

Moscow wants Kyiv to make massive territorial concessions, giving up even more land than it has lost on the battlefield, and has also at times sought the removal of Zelensky, pledges of military neutrality and limits on Ukraine's army.

Kyiv and the West reject those calls but Zelensky has conceded that Ukraine might only get back some territory through diplomatic means.

He wants an immediate 30-day ceasefire -- something Putin has repeatedly rejected.

P.Hwang--SG