Russian delegation arrives in Istanbul ahead of potential Ukraine peace talks as Putin declines to join

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

A plane with the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul ahead of planned peace talks with Ukraine, pro-state news agency Interfax reported on May 15, citing sources in aviation services.

President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for direct negotiations in Istanbul, but the Russian leader declined to attend and appointed his aide, Vladimir Medinsky, to lead the talks.

The negotiations are expected to begin at around 10 a.m. local time in a closed-door format, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.