Replica for Maria Zaharova, after saying that Zelenski is “Clovn” and “missed”: “barking from Moscow”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Thursday replied to the statements of the spokesman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zaharova, who cataloged the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski as a “clown” before the peace negotiations provided in Turkey, writes The Kyiv Independent.

“It is not the first time that the Russian Foreign Ministry becomes the object of mockery,” said the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tykhyi, in a message published on the social network X, in response to Maria Zaharova's comments.

“It is also worth noting that the Turkish delegation is not led by the Russian Foreign Ministry – their role is to bark from Moscow,” wrote the representative of Ukrainian diplomacy.

Zelenski described as “decorative” Russia delegation sent to Istanbul

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski said on Thursday, after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, that Ukraine will decide what the steps are to be followed in his negotiations with Russia, in the context of the Kiev leader described as “decorative” the delegation sent by Moscow to Istanb. Previously Reuters and AFP.

“It seems like a farce,” Zelenski commented, the Ukrainian president noting instead that Ukraine sent a “at the highest level” delegation.

“Our delegation is of the highest level (prepared for) to make all the decisions that can lead to peace,” added the head of the Ukrainian state, according to Agerpres.

Zelenski explained to the reporters that the Russian delegation sent to Turkey for negotiations has a lower level-does not include any minister and no high-ranking politician-and an unclear mandate.

“The level (the level of the Russian delegation) is not officially known to me, but as far as we see, it seems to be at a decorative level,” said the Ukrainian president. “We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation has, what mandate it has and if it can make decisions,” he added.

Zelenski informed that the Ukrainian delegation belongs to the Foreign Minister, heads of the army and intelligence services, as well as senior officials in his office.

In contrast, the Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinski, presidential counselor and former Minister of Culture, considered a weightless politician in Moscow. Previously, he led the last direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, which ended without any progress.

The Russian delegation also includes the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihail Galuzin, the Deputy Minister of Defense Aleksandr Fomin and the head of the main department of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Gor Kostiukov, according to the list published by Kremlin.

Zaharova, about Zelenski: “Clovn”, “missed” and “sad”

Also on Thursday, several Russian officials were launched on Thursday at all flattering appreciation for Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, in the context of Russia and Ukraine delegates are expected to meet in the day in Istanbul, for peace negotiations.

Thus, according to AFP, the spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zaharova, named the Ukrainian president “Clovn” and “missed” on Thursday after Zelenski criticized the Russian delegation to Turkey for the first bilateral discussions of the last three years.

“Who uses the word” farce “? A clown? A failure? A person without any preparation,” Zaharova launched at the weekly briefing, immediately after Zelenski's statement. “But who is he?” she insisted.

For his part, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday, Zelenski as “sad” because the Ukrainian president demanded that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin participate in the Direct Russian-Ukrainian discussions in Istanbul.

“First of all, Zelenski said he asked for Putin to come personally. Well, he is sad,” Lavrov said in a speech to the diplomats in Moscow, transmitted to the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Separately, Lavrov asked to give a chance to the peace negotiations in Istanbul, but criticized the proposal to cease fire, arguing that he would only serve Ukraine to return.

“We have to give the negotiations a chance, but no one guarantees that everything will work well, without problems,” Lavrov said during his speech at the Diplomatic Club.