STORY: :: Arriving in Turkey, Ukraine's Zelenskiy says 'I'm here,' and describes Russia's delegation as 'decorative'
:: May 15, 2025
:: Ankara, Turkey
:: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian President
"The level of the Russian (delegation) is not known officially to me but from what we see, it looks more like it's on a decorative level. We will think about what we do next, what our next steps will be after the talks with President Erdogan. I think we will have a couple of hours for important talks, for very important decisions."
"We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions. Because we all know who makes decisions in Russia."
"I'm here. I think this is very clear message."
Zelenskiy told reporters at Ankara's airport that the level of the Russian delegation dispatched to Turkey for talks was of low rank and had an unclear mandate. Putin sent aides and deputy ministers, spurning Kyiv's challenge to go there in person to meet Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian delegation included his foreign minister, military and intelligence chiefs, and also senior officials from his office.
Zelenskiy later took off from the airport to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, with whom he is expected to discuss peace efforts.
