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Putin not on Kremlin list of officials attending Ukraine peace talks in Turkey
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the names listed by the Kremlin as being due to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, despite calls from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.
Russia’s delegation will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kremlin statement.
Zelensky had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed, and said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place.
US President Donald Trump will also not be attending, according to media reports, despite previously hinting he would if Putin were there.
The talks are scheduled for 10:00 local time (08:00 BST) in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace and will be closed to the press, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He said he would attend direct talks in Istanbul with Russia, but only if Putin also attended.
“I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing,” he said in his nightly video address on Wednesday.
Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019. Russia and Ukraine last held direct negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
Fighting has raged in Ukraine since then. Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine.
On Sunday Putin called for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey’s largest city “without pre-conditions”. Zelensky then announced he would go in person and expected the Russian president to travel as well.
Putin’s suggestion of direct talks in Istanbul followed Western powers’ call for a 30-day ceasefire, after European leaders met in Kyiv on Saturday.
After Trump called for Ukraine to accept the offer on Sunday, Zelensky said he would travel there himself.
“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had floated the possibility of joining the meeting himself if Putin did.
The US president, who is currently in Qatar, told reporters he did not know if his Russian counterpart would attend “if I’m not there”.
“I know he would like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that,” Trump said.
In a phone call with Putin on Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reportedly asked his Russian counterpart to attend the talks and congratulated him on proposing them.
The US is expected to send a high-level delegation to the talks.
The country’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, arrived in Turkey on Wednesday, where he will meet Nato foreign ministers on Thursday.
Ahead of that meeting, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he met Rubio on Wednesday evening. Sybiha said he had reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to US peace efforts, and called on Russia to “reciprocate Ukraine’s constructive steps”.
Rubio plans to travel onwards to Istanbul on Friday, where the State Department says he will attend talks with European counterparts to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Arriving at his hotel in Antalya on Wednesday, Rubio did not answer when the BBC asked him if Putin would be coming to Turkey.
Since returning to the White House, President Trump has sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
He ended a years-long Western boycott of Russia’s leader by speaking to Putin over the phone in February, and his envoy Steve Witkoff has met Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow.
Trump has previously said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal”.
On Sunday, when Putin proposed the direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”
[BBC]
Pavan Rathnayake has re-entered Sri Lanka’s T20I squad following his 121 off 115 balls in the third ODI against England. Omitted from the squad to play England in three T20Is, however, are fast bowler Nuwan Thushara and batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis. Legspinner Dushan Hemantha has also been left out.
Left-arm-spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage retains his place in the T20I squad, though he hasn’t played a T20I since September. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga are the two other frontline spinners. Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka – who both bowl fingerspin – are in the squad too.
On the seam-bowling front, Eshan Malinga and Pramod Madushan are in the squad, in addition to Dushmantha Chameera and Matheesha Pathirana. Thushara had been a consistent presence in Sri Lanka’s T20I squads over the past two years, but his omission comes after several modest performances since September.
Aside from Rathnayake’s inclusion, the batting is largely as expected, with Kusal Perera coming back in the only format he now plays.
Sri Lanka are yet to announce their squad for the T20 World Cup, which will start on February 7. Teams have time till January 31 to make changes to squads, following which they will have to get the approvals from the ICC to make changes.
Sri Lanka squad for England T20Is:
Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Eshan Malinga
Australia Under 19s 314/7 in 50 overs (Oliver Peake 109, Nitesh Samuel 56; Jakeem Pollard 2-37, R’Jai Gittens 2-45) beat West Indies Under 19s 292/9 in 50 overs (Zachary Carter 64, Joshua Dorne 62; Charles Lachmund 4-66, Aryan Sharma 2-47) by 22 runs
Latest News
The National Strategic Action Plan to monitor and combat human trafficking (2026-2030) officially launched
The Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in the official launch of the National Strategic Action Plan to monitor and combat human trafficking (2026-2030) held on 28th of January at the Cinnamon Life Hotel, Colombo. The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Defence, National Anti Human Trafficking Task Force ( NAHTTF), International Organization for Migration (IOM).
This five-year Action Plan was unveiled under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence, in its capacity as Chair of the NAHTTF and with the technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The National Strategic Action Plan 2026-2030 establishes a unified national framework to prevent human trafficking, protect and assist victims, strengthen law enforcement responses, and enhance accountability.
Addressing the event, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening national efforts to prevent and address human trafficking and stated that the Action Plan must transcend its symbolic launch into concrete, coordinated, and sustained implementation.
The Prime Minister also noted that the launch of the National Strategic Action Plan is timely, as it operationalizes the four internationally recognized pillars of the anti-trafficking framework namely prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership.
The Prime Minister further stated,
“Caring for trafficking survivors in Sri Lanka requires a holistic, gender-sensitive, and survivor-centered approach that addresses both immediate protection and long-term recovery. This includes safe shelter, medical care, and trauma-informed psychological support, with particular attention to women and girls who experience more severe and gendered forms of violence, alongside legal assistance, economic empowerment, and skills development to prevent re-trafficking.
Human trafficking is a structural and social challenge that requires sustained, multi-sectoral action. Ministries and government agencies must embed anti-trafficking priorities into their core strategies and day-to-day operations, ensuring institutional integration and professional accountability”.
The event was attended by Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr, PC, Attorney General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Chair of the NAHTTF, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha; and Kristin Parco, IOM Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka and Maldives. Members of the NAHTTF representing 23 key government entities, along with representatives of the diplomatic community, United Nations entities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
(Prime Minister’s Media Division)
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