The Foreign Ministry responded to Zakharova's escapade: The role of the Russian Foreign Ministry is to bark from Moscow

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the statement of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who resorted to personal insults against President Volodymyr Zelensky in response to his criticism of the low level of representation of the Russian delegation at the negotiations in Turkey.

"Instead of Putin coming to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey and having a serious conversation about ending the war and restoring peace, we hear from Russia only personal insults to the Ukrainian president," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi.

As Tykhy noted, this is not the first time the Russian Foreign Ministry has been disgraced by inappropriate statements addressed to the Ukrainian authorities.

"This is not the first time that the Russian foreign ministry has become a laughing stock. It is also worth noting that the delegation in Turkey is not led by the Russian Foreign Ministry – their role is to bark from Moscow," he said.

On the afternoon of May 15, after arriving in Turkey, Zelensky called the level of the Russian delegation "fake." He noted that the mandate of the Russian representatives is unknown and it is necessary to understand "whether they are capable of making at least one decision on their own."

• On the evening of May 14, Putin approved the composition of the Russian delegation for negotiations on the Russian-Ukrainian war in Turkey. He himself will not go to Istanbul.
• Britain has drawn attention to the fact that Russia has sent "low-level" representatives to Turkey for negotiations.