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Russia’s Vladimir Putin has dodged bilateral peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday that he himself proposed, instead opting to send low-level delegates to the country.
The Kremlin said a delegation headed by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky would travel to Istanbul for a summit with Ukraine, as pressure mounts to resolve the ongoing war, now in its fourth year.
The Russian delegation will also include deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin, chief of the main directorate of the general staff of the Russian army Igor Kostyukov, and deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin, the Kremlin announced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said he would attend the talks only if Putin were to go.
President Donald Trump, who is on a tour of the Middle East, also won’t be attending the talks, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The absence of both Putin and Trump from the talks dampens hopes for a significant breakthrough in resolving the conflict
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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