Zelenskyy rules out talks with any Russian official but Putin in Istanbul meeting: Official

“The president cannot meet with anyone else,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, according to news agency RBC-Ukraine.

Podolyak said Russia’s power structure is well known and that no other official has the authority to decide on war or peace.

“Even (Foreign Minister Sergey) Lavrov or (Prime Minister Mikhail) Mishustin are unlikely to be authorized to make such decisions,” he said. “Only Putin can make the decision to continue or end the war.”

He added that a lower-level meeting would only delay meaningful progress.

“This is again stalling for time. What’s the point of holding a meeting at a lower level?” he said.

Negotiations to settle the Russia-Ukraine war have reached their most advanced stage in over three years, as leaders of both countries are expected to hold direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday.

The proposal to meet without preconditions in Istanbul on May 15 was first made by Putin during a press conference in Moscow on Sunday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later confirmed Türkiye’s readiness to host the talks during a phone call with Putin.

In response, Zelenskyy said he would “personally” be “waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday,” but reaffirmed Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire starting Monday to “provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.”