The Russian message comes after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj urged Putin to come to Istanbul personally for direct negotiations at the highest level.
After refusing for several days to disclose whether Putin would come, the Kremlin appointed its negotiating group late on Wednesday.
The Russian side will be led by Vladimir Medinskyj, according to the Kremlin. He is a tough advisor to Putin and former culture minister involved when Ukraine and Russia last met in direct talks, which was shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Clear signal"
Russia thus intends to hold the talks at a significantly lower level. Neither Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov nor the Kremlin's foreign policy advisor Yuriy Ushakov are named.
Zelenskyj said earlier in the week that Putin's absence would constitute a clear signal that he is not genuinely interested in a peace settlement.
The other three appointed Russian negotiators are Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and Igor Kostyukov, chief of Russia's military intelligence service GRU.
Rejected ceasefire
Trump offered on Wednesday to go to Turkey if Putin showed up. Now, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to go to Turkey instead.
Putin himself set conditions for direct talks with Ukraine in Turkey instead of accepting a 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and about 30 countries, including the US, which was to start on Monday.
I don't believe Putin wants the war to end, that he doesn't want a ceasefire, doesn't want any negotiations, said Zelenskyj to journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.
