Putin names Russian delegation for Ukraine talks, won't go to Istanbul himself

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the composition of the delegation that will travel to Istanbul for talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin press service announced.

The delegation will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to the Russian leader. The talks will also be attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.

In addition, Putin has approved a team of experts for talks with Ukraine. They include the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Aleksandr Zorin, the representative of Putin's administration, Elena Podobreevskaya, the director of the Department for the CIS countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexey Polishchuk, and the official of the Ministry of Defense, Volodymyr Shevtsov.

Read too Trump unsure if Putin will attend talks with Ukraine in Istanbul

There is no indication whether the Russian dictator himself will participate in the talks, writes themoscowtimes.

We recall that, in his evening speech on May 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he is awaiting information on the composition of the Russian delegation at the talks in Turkey, in order to determine Ukraine's next steps.

He had previously stated several times that he would personally receive the head of the Russian Federation. However, the Kremlin kept the composition of the Russian delegation secret for three days. /Telegraph/