Rubio arrives in Istanbul, the mood of the US delegation is "quite gloomy"
U.S. official to meet with Ukrainian and Turkish delegations
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul on May 16. This was reported by BBC correspondent Tom Bateman, who flew with him.
"I'm with Rubio and we just landed in Istanbul," he wrote.
According to Bateman, the mood of the US delegation is "quite gloomy".
"American officials would like to tell their boss that they managed to get the meeting he wanted – a summit between Trump and Putin. But this did not happen. Instead, Rubio is off to another meeting with Turkish and Ukrainian officials," the BBC correspondent noted.
Bateman also said that a US official would be present at the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. According to him, it may be one of Rubio's aides, but not the Secretary of State himself.
- on May 15, Rubio said that the United States does not have high expectations for the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on May 16. He noted that he does not plan to meet personally with the Russian delegation in Turkey.
- The Secretary of State also emphasized that without a personal conversation between Trump and Putin there will be no breakthrough in the peaceful dialogue. In addition, according to Rubio, the level of the negotiating team that Russia sent to Turkey does not indicate this breakthrough.
- On May 16, it became known that two meetings in different formats are planned in Istanbul , the US and Russia will not meet.