Rubio says no high expectations for Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey

AFP:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday downplayed expectations for the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, after Moscow sent a low-profile delegation and both sides traded insults ahead of the negotiations.
“I want to be frank… we don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow,” Rubio told reporters after NATO talks in Antalya, Turkey, echoing what his boss Donald Trump said about the negotiations earlier.
The US president appeared to concede that progress in Turkey was unlikely, saying there would be no movement towards ending the war until he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent a team to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with Russia in three years but also played down expectations of a breakthrough, saying Moscow was “not serious” about ending the war.
After hours of confusion which saw both sides hurl insults at the other and uncertainty over whether Ukraine would show up for the talks, Zelensky ended the uncertainty.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, along with about a dozen of deputy-level officials were en route to Istanbul from Ankara with a mandate to push for a ceasefire.
Talks could take place on Thursday or Friday, Zelensky added.
Kyiv has baulked at what Zelensky called the “dummy” delegation of relatively low-level figures sent by Russia, after days spent calling on Putin to personally show up.
But hosts Turkey remained optimistic and Russia’s top negotiator said Moscow was ready to discuss “possible compromises” at the talks.
“Unfortunately, they are not taking the real negotiations very seriously,” Zelensky told reporters after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But “out of respect” for Erdogan and Trump, Zelensky said he would still send a reduced delegation, led by Umerov, to Istanbul for the talks where he would press for a halt to the three-year war.
The Russian side is being led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hawkish advisor to Putin who has questioned Ukraine’s right to exist and led failed talks in 2022 at the start of the war.
The Russian delegation met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, his spokesman said, after waiting for Ukrainians at the talks venue in Istanbul the whole day.- ‘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 for potentially hostile discussions, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Zelensky a “clown” and “loser” hours before the talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called him “pathetic” for trying to persuade Putin to turn up in person.
But Zelensky insisted in Turkey: “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,” he added. “Although I still believe that Russia continues to treat these meetings unseriously and does not want to end the war.”
Trump also said no meaningful progress could take place until he himself met Putin.
“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.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due in Istanbul on Friday after warning at a NATO meeting in Antalya that Washington was growing “impatient”.
– ‘Compromises’ –
It was Putin himself who made the surprise call for direct negotiations after Kyiv and European leaders pressured him to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Despite the flurry of diplomacy, Moscow and Kyiv’s positions remain far apart.
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 and has advanced sweeping territorial claims over Ukraine.
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”.
“The delegation is committed to a constructive approach, to finding possible solutions and points of contact. The goal of direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side is to eventually establish long-term peace by eliminating the root causes of the conflict,” he said.
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.