The ball is in Russia's court: Rutte stated that Putin is losing the opportunity to start peace talks in Istanbul.

Peace offer from Ukraine to Russia

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent only a low-level delegation to Istanbul instead of starting negotiations for peace in Ukraine, as proposed by the Ukrainian side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness for direct negotiations. This information was announced by Mark Rutte during a press conference in Antalya during an informal meeting of the heads of foreign affairs agencies of NATO countries.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, has already confirmed that Vladimir Putin has no intention of participating in negotiations in Istanbul with the Ukrainian side. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a decision on further steps in the negotiation process will be made after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Currently, there are no plans for any meetings between representatives of Russia and Ukraine.