May 15 (UPI) -- The first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years, due to get underway in Turkey on Thursday, were thrown into doubt after it emerged neither President Vladimir Putin nor President Volodymyr Zelensky would be there.
Zelensky said he would only participate if Putin attended, but the Russian team being sent to Istanbul, posted on X at the last minute in the early hours of Thursday, did not include Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or any senior officials.
The Russian delegation was hand-picked by a Putin-chaired meeting of high-level diplomatic, security and intelligence officials and military brass, including "all commanders of groups in the special military operation zone [Ukraine]," the Kremlin said in a follow up news release some hours later.
Speaking on arrival at Ankara for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zelensky accused Russia of sending "stand-in props," prompting Moscow to lash out, calling Zelensky a "clown and a loser talking about respectable people [the Russian delegation]."
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