Rubio, Witkoff plan on taking trip to Istanbul soon
(MENAFN) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Istanbul on Friday to participate in the upcoming Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Reuters reported. The announcement follows earlier remarks by President Donald Trump confirming U.S. involvement in the negotiations.
The talks, scheduled for May 15, mark the first direct meeting between Russia and Ukraine in over three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently offered to restart dialogue aimed at reaching a lasting resolution to the conflict by addressing its root causes.
Witkoff confirmed the U.S. participation on Wednesday during a press briefing in Doha, where he and Rubio were accompanying President Trump on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East.
While Trump had initially hinted he might personally attend the talks, he later clarified aboard Air Force One that his schedule would not permit it. A White House spokesperson confirmed that Rubio, Witkoff, and U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg would represent Washington at the meeting.
The Kremlin also confirmed it would send a delegation, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting that Moscow expects Ukraine to participate as well. Ukraine has maintained that President Volodymyr Zelensky is only willing to negotiate directly with President Putin.
On Wednesday evening, Russia named its delegation, to be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who previously headed the Russian team during similar negotiations in Istanbul in 2022.
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