WP: US and Europe convinced Zelensky not to abandon talks in Istanbul

President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to cancel talks with Russia in Istanbul on May 15, but American and European officials convinced him to go, The Washington Post reported, citing two unnamed diplomats.

According to the interlocutors, President Zelensky was on the verge of canceling Ukraine's participation because Russia delayed the selection of participants in the negotiations for several days.

However, officials stressed the critical importance of at least sending delegations of senior Ukrainian officials, including the head of the presidential office , Andriy Yermak , and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga. However, Zelenskyy reportedly repeatedly opposed this.

"Zelenskyy didn't see any point in going at all," said one of the diplomats.

US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff convinced Ukrainians that participating in direct negotiations with Russia is a win-win situation for everyone.

"If they show up and Russia doesn’t, Moscow will look bad and suffer the consequences. If Ukraine and Russia showed up, both sides could move closer to a ceasefire and an end to the war," said two diplomats familiar with the talks.

One Ukrainian official said that Zelensky insisted on meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "because a serious conversation about stopping the killings and ending the war needs to be had with the ultimate decision-maker in Russia."

• 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.
• It later became known that Trump would also not travel to Turkey to participate in the negotiations.
• The President's Office emphasized that Zelenskyy would only speak with Putin during the talks in Istanbul, and not with other Russian officials.