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Zelensky approves list of Ukraine’s delegation members for talks with Russia in Istanbul

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the delegation

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky has approved a decree on forming a Ukrainian delegation for the negotiation process with Russia in Istanbul.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the delegation.

"[I hereby decree] to form a Ukrainian delegation for the participation in the negotiation process with Ukraine’s international partners - the delegations of the Republic of Turkiye and the United States of America, - as well as with representatives from the Russian Federation slated for May 15-16, 2025," the decree reads.

The delegation also includes First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa, Deputy Chairman of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) Alexander Poklad, First Deputy Chair of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU) Oleg Lugovskoy, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexey Shevchenko, Deputy Chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Vadim Skibitsky, and other officials.

On May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is proposing to the Kiev regime to resume the talks it interrupted in 2022 directly and without any preconditions on May 15 in Istanbul in order to remove the conflict’s root causes and potentially achieve a ceasefire. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later said that the venue that was chosen is significant: the talks are resuming where they were interrupted at the insistence of the United Kingdom, which pressured the Kiev regime to break off negotiations three years ago.