On May 16, 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul, where important diplomatic events are scheduled today, including a trilateral meeting of representatives of the US, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as talks between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. This was reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) agency, noting that these are the first direct talks between Moscow and Kiev since March 2022. The meetings are taking place at the Dolmabahce Palace under the auspices of Turkey, which is acting as a mediator. The trilateral meeting of the US, Turkey and Ukraine is scheduled to begin at 12:30 local time, but the format and Rubio's participation in the talks with the Russian delegation remain in question.

The Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to the Russian President, and includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and representatives of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense. Ukraine is represented by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, accompanied by Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Poklad and First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kislytsya. Turkey is represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who held preparatory consultations with Medinsky and Umerov the day before.

The talks were initiated after Putin's May 11 proposal to hold a dialogue without preconditions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Ankara on May 15 for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to the talks. Zelensky also criticized the composition of the Russian delegation, which prompted a response from the Russian Foreign Ministry: Maria Zakharova said that the delegation had been approved by Putin and had full powers.