US President's Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff has announced that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday 16 May for negotiations concerning the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source : Witkoff, speaking to journalists in Doha, writes Reuters, as reported by European Pravda  

Details : The US envoy noted that it remains unclear whether Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will participate in the planned talks. The specific nature of the discussions involving Rubio and Witkoff on Friday has not been disclosed. So far, the focus has been on potential direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on Thursday, though the level of representation for these talks is still uncertain.

Background: 

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that he is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Thursday, but if Vladimir Putin agrees to fly to Istanbul, he and Erdoğan are prepared to travel there instead. 
• At the same time, the Ukrainian president stated he does not believe that Putin would come to Istanbul for direct negotiations with him, although he does not completely rule out the possibility.
• US President Donald Trump also said that he does not know whether Putin will attend the negotiations on the Russo-Ukrainian war.
• Meanwhile, the Kremlin stated that the Russian side continues preparations for the talks in Istanbul on 15 May and would not provide any further comment.

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