Russia calls Zelensky ‘clown’, ‘loser’ ahead of Turkey talks

 

Russia and Ukraine traded insults on Thursday as negotiators were due to meet in Turkey for the first direct peace talks in more than three years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Russia for sending a “dummy” delegation, as he touched down in Ankara for a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russian officials, for their part, called Zelensky “pathetic” and a “clown”.

The exchange of personal barbs undermines the chances of any breakthrough at the talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending, despite days of international pressure.

Instead Russia’s negotiating team, which touched down in Istanbul on Thursday morning, is led by a hardline historian and Kremlin aide who has denied Ukraine’s right to exist.

“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 from the tarmac at Ankara airport.

“From what we see, it looks more like a dummy,” he added.

US President Donald Trump said he was keeping open the possibility of travelling to Turkey on Friday if there was any meaningful progress.

But the absence of Putin — as well as any top diplomats such as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov — would seem to diminish the talks’ importance or any possibility of a breakthrough.