Scores of journalists, diplomats and Russia watchers have descended onto Istanbul on Thursday amid expectations that officials from Russia and Ukraine – two countries locked in a bloody conflict for more than a decade – could meet face to face for the first time in three years.
Little is known about what could happen on Thursday after the Kremlin shot down the speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin could travel to Turkey himself.
Delegations from both Russia and Ukraine are currently in Turkey, although whether they’ll meet is uncertain.
Here is what we do – and don’t – know:
Timings disputed: The Russian state news agency Tass reported earlier on Thursday that the talks were set to start in Istanbul at 10 a.m. local time, a report that was dismissed by the Ukrainians as “fake news.”
No other time has been given and no talks have started as of 12 noon local time.
Who’s in Turkey? The Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, Putin’s senior aide and a hardliner who led the Russian side during the last known direct talks between the two countries in the spring of 2022.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday morning that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had arrived to Ankara. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also scheduled to be in the Turkish capital where he was set to meet the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Ukrainian leader will make a decision on whether to travel to Istanbul after meeting Erdogan, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
US presence: Several top US officials are also in Turkey. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived to the coastal city of Antalya on Wednesday. He is attending an informal meeting of the NATO foreign ministers there.
Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and his foreign envoy Steve Witkoff both plan to be in Istanbul for the talks, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday, a statement confirmed by another source familiar with the plans.
How did we get here? Putin called for direct talks at the weekend, having rejected a call from Kyiv its allies for a 30-day truce. Zelensky quickly said he was ready to meet, following it up by saying that he would not meet any other Russian official apart from Putin.
But the Kremlin has made it clear Putin won’t be there, making the likelihood of any breakthrough even more slim.
