President Donald Trump said he may travel to Turkey for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would show if he isn’t there.
“I don’t know if he’s showing up,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I know he would like me to be there. And that’s a possibility.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Ankara for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, but it’s not yet clear if the Kremlin leader will show up.
Russia had proposed restarting direct peace talks, and Zelenskyy challenged Putin himself to show up. Russia has refused to confirm who’s attending the talks, while Zelenskyy has said he will only meet with Putin.
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The president noted that he has a “full day” scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday, and he’d planned on sending Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio.
But, he added, “I don’t know that [Putin] would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out. Marco’s going and Marco’s been very effective.”
“If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that. Now, tomorrow, we’re all booked out, and you understand that, we’re all set, UAE tomorrow, and so we have a very full situation. Now, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it to save a lot of lives and come back.”
At the White House before heading on his Middle East trip, Trump told reporters: “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey.”
Special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg are expected to join Rubio, in a glimmer of hope for negotiations that have seemingly stalled out in recent weeks.
Zelenskyy stressed it’s time for negotiations between principals.
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“If Putin is truly ready, not just in the media but in real life, to meet, then at the leaders’ level, we will do everything to agree on a ceasefire,” he said. “Because it is with him that I must negotiate a ceasefire. He is the only one who decides.”
Putin on Sunday suggested peace talks in Turkey take place “without any preconditions” and did not say if he would attend.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a delegation will be waiting in Istanbul, not Ankara, to speak with the Ukrainians on Thursday.