The UK accused Vladimir Putin of sending a “low-level” delegation to peace talks on Ukraine rather than agreeing to a face-to-face meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president is in Turkey where he has said he is prepared to meet the Russian leader, but instead the Kremlin is sending Mr Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky and deputy defence and foreign ministers.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Nato counterparts including the US’s top diplomat Marco Rubio are taking part in a separate meeting in Turkey.
Mr Lammy said: “We come with one single message to stand by Ukraine and to ensure that we get a just and lasting, enduring peace.
“And the readiness for that peace is demonstrated by President Zelensky being here in Turkey as well.
Today in Antalya, Türkiye 🇹🇷 NATO Foreign Ministers meet for the last time before the Hague Summit in June
— UK Joint Delegation to NATO (@UKNATO) May 15, 2025
The 🇬🇧 will lead calls for Europe to support Ukraine, as well as show its commitment to a secure and stable Euro-Atlantic #ForMin
Tap for more ⬇️https://t.co/4DD80BJO57
“And of course, we watched closely as we head to these talks, noting the Russian low-level individuals who are coming to represent the Russian side.”
At the Nato meeting Mr Rubio said US President Donald Trump is “open to virtually any mechanism that gets us to a just, enduring and lasting peace and that’s what he wants to see”.
Mr Rubio said: “He wants to end wars and that’s the hope with Russia and Ukraine. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days inthat regard, but we want to see progress made.”
Arrived in Türkiye to encourage @NATO Allies to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP. It’s time to align our words with action. Thanks to @POTUS we’ve seen progress, but all Allies need to step up. pic.twitter.com/uFosNhBCjs
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 15, 2025
While the Nato foreign ministers gathered in Antalya, Mr Zelensky was visiting Ankara for talks with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but has said he would travel to Istanbul where peace talks are taking place if Mr Putin showed up.
The Nato meeting comes as the US continued to push European members to increase military spending to fund more of their own security.
Mr Trump and senior figures in his administration have criticised the current situation, with vice president JD Vance suggesting the US was “bailing out” Europe and defence secretary Pete Hegseth accusing European states of “freeloading” in a conversation on Signal which inadvertently included a journalist.
In Turkey, Mr Rubio said: “Nato has the opportunity to grow even stronger… the alliance is only as strong as its weakest link, and we intend and endeavour to have no weak links in this alliance.
“So it’s setting up nicely, and it’s good to see. The president has just submitted a budget for a trillion dollars of defence spending, which is unheard of. It’s unparalleled.”
Mr Lammy pointed to the UK’s commitment to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027 and 3% during the next parliament, exceeding the current Nato target of 2% but below the 5% Mr Trump has called for.
The Foreign Secretary said it was “hugely important that we redouble our efforts across the Euro-Atlantic to recommit to defence spending”.
“All of us were committing far more during the Cold War,” Mr Lammy said.
“It’s hugely important that we recommit to Europe’s defences and that we step up alongside our US partners in this challenging geopolitical moment.”
