Putin not expected to attend Turkey summit in person, will send top aide and foreign secretary in his place — The Washington Post

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov will represent Russia at negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, a former senior Kremlin official told The Washington Post. The newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda had previously reported the same information, but the article was quickly taken down.

A source familiar with the preparations also told Agentstvo that Ushakov and Lavrov are likely to lead Russia’s delegation. According to this source, Vladimir Putin has no plans to attend the talks. “For now, it’s Ushakov who’s expected. Lavrov might join him, but that hasn’t been decided yet,” said Agentstvo’s source.

Over the weekend, Putin proposed resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul — the site of earlier peace talks in 2022 that collapsed following revelations of mass killings of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, near Kyiv, by Russian forces. The Kremlin did not specify who would be part of its delegation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later announced that he would visit Turkey on May 15, but his office emphasized that he would negotiate only with Putin.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Turkey, along with two of President Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg. The White House has indicated that Trump will also participate in the talks, but only if Putin attends.