Both Putin and Zelensky are absent from the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, making it difficult to achieve a breakthrough

Given that Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to hold direct face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and only sent a secondary delegation to the peace talks held in Turkey, with Zelensky led by Defense Minister Vladimir Umerov, it is unlikely that a breakthrough will be achieved in this Russia-Ukraine negotiation.

A source from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the talks between the Turkish Foreign Minister and the Russian delegation in Istanbul have concluded, and the two sides will meet with the Ukrainian side on Friday (May 16).

Agence France-Presse, citing sources, said that Turkish Foreign Minister Feidan and a delegation led by Putin's adviser Meginsky concluded their talks on Thursday night. Trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and Turkey have been on the agenda, and the United States, Ukraine and Turkey will also hold a round of talks.

The source said it has not yet been determined whether a quadrilateral meeting format, where officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United States hold a meeting together, will be adopted.

This is the first face-to-face negotiation between Russia and Ukraine since March 2022. However, US President Trump said that if neither he nor Putin attends, there will be no progress in the Russia-Ukraine talks, which further weakens the hope of a major breakthrough in the Istanbul negotiations.

According to another report by Reuters, US Secretary of State Rubio also expressed the same view. He told reporters in Antalya, Turkey, that Washington "does not have very high expectations" for the Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul.

Meginsky, the head of the Russian delegation, said he expected the Ukrainian delegation to attend the negotiations to be held in Istanbul at 10 a.m. on Friday (3 p.m. Singapore time on Friday).

Meginsky posted a video on the instant messaging app Telegram saying, "We are ready for the negotiations." He also said that the Russian delegation had a "productive" discussion with Turkish Foreign Minister Fedan on Thursday night.

Zelensky said that Putin's decision not to attend the negotiations but to send a delegation for show indicates that Putin does not truly want to end the war. Russia, on the other hand, accused Ukraine of "putting on AIRS".

Zelensky said after meeting with Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara: "It is impossible for us to look for Putin all over the world."

Zelensky told reporters, "I think Russia doesn't respect me." There was no scheduled meeting time, no agenda and no dispatch of a high-level delegation - this was disrespectful to me personally. There is no respect for Erdogan and Trump either.

Zelensky said that he would not go to Istanbul either. The mission of the delegation he sent was to discuss the ceasefire.