Kremlin technocrats land in Istanbul, Zelenskyy flies to Erdogan
While the Ukrainian delegation, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, departed for Ankara, Turkey, late on May 14 to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Russian delegation likely arrived in Istanbul, the BBC reported early on May 15.
According to Flightradar24 data, an IL-62M aircraft from the Special Flight Unit "Russia," possibly carrying officials appointed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to hold talks with the Ukrainian team, landed at Atatürk Airport.
The plane, with the registration number RA-86559, departed from Moscow's Chkalovsky airfield late on May 14. The names of the passengers remain unknown.
Earlier that day, the Kremlin’s press service announced that Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, would lead a group of technocrats in talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.
On May 13, Zelenskyy announced that he would meet with Erdoğan in Ankara on May 15, after which they would fly together to Istanbul to meet with Putin, should he dare to come to Turkey for a face-to-face meeting.
"We have spoken with President Erdoğan and I will have a meeting with him on Thursday, May 15, in the capital of Turkey, Ankara. We will wait for a meeting with Putin in Türkiye. To prevent Russia from manipulating locations or claiming that Putin is only willing to fly to Istanbul, I want to make it clear: if Putin flies to Istanbul, President Erdoğan and I will fly to Istanbul. In any case, we will do everything to make this meeting happen,” he said.
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