Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Ankara on Thursday where he is to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then decide on the next steps in anticipated peace talks with Russia.
"We arrived," a senior Ukrainian official told AFP. Moscow says delegations from Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to meet in Istanbul later Thursday for the first direct peace talks in more than three years.
Zelensky aid Kyiv sent a delegation of highest level to Turkey to hold the first direct talks with Moscow in over three years.
"Our delegation is at the highest level -- the ministry of foreign affairs, the office of the president, the military, our intelligence agencies... in order to make any decisions that can lead to just peace," Zelensky said after landing in Ankara.
He had the impression Russia sent a "dummy" delegation with an unclear mandate to Turkey for the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in over three years.
"We need to understand the level of the Russian delegation and what their mandate is, if they are capable of making any decisions themselves," Zelensky said, adding that "from what we see, it looks more like a dummy".
He added that Ukraine would "think about what we will do, what our steps will be, after we talk to (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan".
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