Adrian Blomfield
Senior Foreign Correspondent
May 15, 2025
Vladimir Putin is a no-show in Istanbul despite President Trump offering to come and hold his hand. Will the US president, who has now had to abandon plans to travel to Turkey, shrug off this latest rebuff or continue to try to charm the coquette in the Kremlin?
My suspicion is the former. Mr Trump’s contortionist peace efforts, which he placed at the very centre of his foreign policy agenda, would be attracting widespread ridicule if they had been attempted by any other US leader, but Trump doesn’t particularly care.
One could also conclude that Putin looks fairly ridiculous as well. He called these talks as a way of ducking out of a 30-day ceasefire that, in his view, would have imperilled the momentum his forces have on the battlefield. Volodymyr Zelensky, under pressure from Washington, called his bluff, and suggested he meet Putin mano a mano in Istanbul — only for the Russian leader to chicken out.
To make matters worse, Putin has not even sent any of his heavy hitters, despite initial reports that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and Yuri Ushakov, the president’s top foreign policy aide, would be in attendance. Instead, the Russian leader is sending a low-level delegation led by retreads from the fruitless talks early in the war back in the first half of 2022.
The question is how Mr Trump will interpret Putin’s actions. European leaders will hope that this might be the moment that the US president is finally convinced that Putin is not to be trusted and has no intention of suing for an honourable peace. If so, the Istanbul talks that Putin proposed could end up being a massive own goal for the Kremlin, with Mr Zelensky emerging as the unexpected winner in Turkey.
I’m not sure I will be holding my breath, though. Trump has been remarkably indulgent when it comes to Putin, treating him with a respect he has rarely shown his allies. Retreating now would be rational but embarrassing — and Mr Trump hates to be embarrassed.
Lammy blasts Putin for sending ‘low-level’ aides to peace talks
Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Vladimir Putin for sending a “low level” delegation to Ukraine peace talks in Turkey.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin for talks on resolving the conflict, but the Russian leader is not expected to travel to Turkey.
At a separate gathering of Nato ministers in the country, Mr Lammy said: “We come with one single message to stand by Ukraine and to ensure that we get a just and lasting, enduring peace.
“And the readiness for that peace is demonstrated by President Zelensky being here in Turkey as well. And of course, we watched closely as we head to these talks, noting the Russian low-level individuals who are coming to represent the Russian side.”