In what has the potential to be a historic moment for peace, Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct talks since the war erupted in February 2022—yet both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will notably skip face-to-face negotiations, dimming hopes for a swift end to the devastating conflict.

Instead, Moscow will send a delegation of seasoned technocrats, including presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, to Istanbul on May 15.

Kremlin officials made it clear: Putin himself will not be attending, despite having proposed the talks just days earlier. On the Ukrainian side, Zelensky said he would be willing to make the journey—but only under the condition that Putin show up, a demand that went unmet.

Zelensky told the world, "The answers to all questions about this war—why it started, why it continues—are in Moscow."

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