Zelenskyy: I did not coordinate Turkey visit or talks with Russia with Trump
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he did not coordinate his visit to Turkey on 15 May or the Ukrainian delegation’s ceasefire talks with Russia with U.S. President Donald Trump.
He stated this during a press conference in Ankara, according to Censor.NET.
"Our teams are in contact. But I did not personally coordinate these actions with President Trump," he said.
Zelenskyy also noted that President Trump is currently on a tour of Middle Eastern countries.
"We were aware there would be a meeting in Turkey and sent a high-level delegation. Both sides did the same. Then, as you know, President Trump is on a Middle East tour, and it’s clear that he has daily meetings with leaders, with prearranged agreements, decisions, projects, documents, and so on. But he did say he is ready to join," the president added.
"In other words, he signaled that if other leaders are present — the President of Ukraine, the President of Russia — then the President of the United States would join as well. That’s normal political will. He’s showing that he’s ready, that he wants to help. That’s how I interpret it," Zelenskyy concluded.
Talks in Turkey
On the night of May 11, Putin proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine "without any preconditions" in Turkey on May 15.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine must immediately agree to Russia’s proposal for direct talks in Turkey.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would personally wait for Putin on May 15. He also noted that he would like Trump to be present in Turkey as well.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin officially approved the composition of the delegation that will travel to Istanbul on May 15 for negotiations with Ukraine.
On May 15, the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for talks with Ukraine.
It was later reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would send a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for negotiations with the Russian side.
