The United States will be represented by Michael Anton, the State Department’s Director of Policy Planning, at the Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul on May 16, Reuters reported, citing State Department spokesperson.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also arrived in Istanbul for talks with Ukrainian and Turkish representatives.
On May 15, Rubio confirmed that U.S. representatives would participate in the talks, which are scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
“In my estimation, I don’t think we’ll see a breakthrough until President [Donald] Trump and [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin speak directly on the issue,” he said, downplaying expectations from the meeting.