'Scared of direct talks': Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges Putin to confirm attendance in Istanbul negotiations

Kyiv's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Tuesday that he would only attend Thursday's Russia-Ukraine conflict resolution talks at Istanbul if his Moscow counterpart Vladimir Putin attended it too, provoking the Kremlin leader by asserting that Putin was scared of a proper face-to-face conversation with him.

The planned talks have become the main focus of peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump, who has offered to attend it. He will also send Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, a Reuters report said, citing three unnamed sources in the know.

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This was preceded by Putin's proposal on Sunday for direct talks with Ukraine, which Trump publicly urged Zelenskyy to attend. However, despite the proposition, Putin also ignored Zelenskyy's request for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, and has not yet confirmed his attendance at the negotiations in Istanbul.   

"We want to agree on a beginning to the end of the war," Zelenskyy said at a press conference, adding that Putin was “scared of direct talks” with him. He also urged America and the European Union to impose “strong sanctions” on Russia if the talks were to fall through.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have sought to foster peace after Trump's push to end the conflict or withdraw altogether. However, the three-year-long conflict—since Russia's special military operation in 2022—continues to rage on.

In an earlier interview on Fox Business Network, Keith Kellogg had stated that Trump's decision to join the negotiations in Istanbul also depended on Putin showing up.

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"We're hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting ... we can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk,” he had said.

Newly elected Pope Leo had also promised Zelenskyy on Monday that he would do his best to help foster a just and lasting peace, a Kyiv official said.

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