Putin approves Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Istanbul

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the composition of the Russian delegation for upcoming talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey, according to a Kremlin statement. The delegation will be led by Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky and include Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin; Igor Kostyukov, chief of the main directorate of the general staff of the Russian army; and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, Xinhua news agency reported. Apart from the delegation members, a list of four experts was also approved for the talks.

Putin also appointed experts to help with the talks. The list includes Alexander Zorin, first deputy head of the information department at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces; Yelena Podobreyevskaya, deputy head of the Presidential Directorate for State Policy in the Humanitarian Area; Alexey Polishchuk, director of the Second Department of CIS countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry; and Viktor Shevtsov, deputy head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation at the Russian Defence Ministry. According to Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov, Moscow and Kyiv on May 15 will resume the talks that they held in 2022 — before they were suspended at the suggestion of then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Russian delegation heading to Istanbul plans to discuss both technical and political issues. In a statement last Sunday, Putin proposed the resumption of direct negotiations with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said he would be in Turkey on Thursday and expected to meet Putin. (IANS)

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