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(Bloomberg) — Top US and European diplomats are gathering in Antalya, Turkey on Thursday as the outlook dims for any major breakthrough in expected peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
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Momentum had been building for a possible meeting between Ukrainian and Russian leaders late this week, in what would be a first direct diplomatic encounter since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
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But Russian President Vladimir Putin announced late Wednesday he would be sending only a delegation of low-level representatives led by his aide Vladimir Medinsky to talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, raising doubts about the prospects for any concrete steps toward ending the war in this week’s meetings.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to join US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg in Istanbul on Friday after meetings in Antalya, a short flight away. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said before Putin’s statement that he would decide which steps to take once Moscow announces who will be attending.
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It’s also still unclear whether officials from the US, Ukraine and Russia will all meet directly or whether discussions will be staggered as they have been previously.
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The uncertainty around the Russia-Ukraine negotiations is casting a shadow over the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Turkish resort city that kicked off Wednesday evening. The meetings in Antalya between Rubio and European foreign ministers will offer a chance to align over Ukraine after European leaders issued an ultimatum last weekend, giving Russia until May 12 to agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine.
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The European leaders had said they had US backing for coordinated sanctions on Russia if Moscow kept up strikes on Ukraine. But US President Donald Trump didn’t publicly back the proposed ceasefire date, and the deadline came and went without either side stopping the fighting.
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“It is clear that Russia is sending only a lower level delegation to Turkiye to these peace talks,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters before the start of the second day of meetings in Antalya. “I’m still cautiously optimistic that if also the Russians are willing to play ball that you could get to some breakthroughs over the next couple of weeks.”
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In conversations between US and European officials earlier this week, previously reported by Bloomberg, the American side was unclear on whether it was still ready to impose sanctions on Russia if attacks continued, or what it would do if Putin refused to meet with Zelenskiy and to halt the fighting.
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European leaders were expected to urge Trump to follow through with his threat to sanction Moscow if Putin declines the meeting with Zelenskiy or Russia doesn’t agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire this week, Bloomberg reported.
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