There is no time set yet for Thursday’s talks in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia, Kyiv said, dismissing reports of a 10 a.m. start time (3 a.m. ET) carried by Russian state media.
Serhiy Nykyforov, Spokesperson for the President of Ukraine told CNN the report in the TASS news outlet was “just another Russian fake news”.
In a post on Telegram, Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Kyiv’s National Security and Defense Council, also rejected Russian state media reports of a 10 a.m. start time. “This is not true. No such time has been scheduled.”
A direct meeting between Kyiv and Moscow at any level would mark a milestone in the conflict. The two are not known to have held direct talks since soon after Moscow launched its unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
While the meeting will not be attended by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladmir Putin or Donald Trump, high level delegations from both Ukraine and the US will be in Istanbul for the meet including White House envoys Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff.
