CNN
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Talks may take place between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday. Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said he was there. President Donald Trump also said he’s open to what he’s going. The person who said nothing about going was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has previously refused to say whether President Putin, or anyone else, would travel to Türkiye on Thursday. Putin proposed a summit in response to a ceasefire or ultimatum given to Moscow by Ukraine’s European allies on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would announce his decision in the future. “As soon as the president needs it, we’ll announce it,” Peskov said.
Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on Thursday after Trump urged him to do so, but his office made it clear that he would not consider meeting other people if Putin decides to go.
“The president cannot meet with other people,” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak told Breakfast Show, a YouTube channel run by Russian journalist Aleksandr Plyushchev.
“There is (one) a decision on behalf of Ukraine. Furthermore, the US President has said that he can act as an important mediator, so there are people in Russia who make decisions.
It remains unclear whether Trump will be present. The top Trump administration officials are scheduled to be in Turkey this week, but the potential president’s attendance remains an open question, largely determined by whether or not his Russian counterpart will be present.
He visited the Gulf this week and stopped in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, for his first major international trip since the start of his second term. He said Turkey could detour “if you find it helpful.”
“I think we’ll get good results from Thursday’s meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump told White House reporters on Monday. “I don’t know where I’m on Thursday. There are a lot of meetings, but I was actually thinking about flying there. I think there’s a chance things could happen.”
Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky said his country would “thank” Trump for his presence, and that he supported a call for direct consultations between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s important that President Trump fully supports the conference and we want him to find an opportunity to be in Turkey,” Zelensky said in an evening speech.
No in-person meetings between Russian and Ukrainian leaders have occurred since the early weeks of Moscow’s unprovoked full-scale invasion in 2022.
Last weekend, Ukraine’s major European allies gave Russia an ultimatum. They agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face “massive” new sanctions. They insisted there would be no new consultations before the ceasefire.
Trump was supporting the initiative, said new German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz. Trump had left the unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine earlier that week, but there was no deadline. “If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” he warned.
For months, Ukraine and its allies have tried to convince the Trump administration that Putin will act maliciously, saying that Russia’s consent to a ceasefire could serve as a test of whether it is serious about achieving the peace that the US president has long demanded.
When Zelensky urged Putin to meet, Trump dropped his demands on Russia, halting him to agree to a ceasefire, marking a dramatic change in his approach.
On Monday, the Kremlin said Putin was serious about finding peace through talks, but a spokesman said he could not say more, according to a Reuters news agency.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone about Putin’s consultations with Ukraine with Turkish counterpart Khakan Fidan, but a brief accounting by the Russian Foreign Ministry did not say whether Putin would be present, according to Reuters.
Zelensky said Monday that Moscow was “silenced” over Putin’s proposal to meet.
“Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to be in Turkey. Unfortunately, the world has not received a clear answer from Russia regarding many proposals for a ceasefire,” Zelensky said in an evening speech.
Zelensky said he spoke with Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan, who has “presented complete preparations for the conference.” The Kremlin said Putin spoke with Erdogan on Sunday and “fully supported” Putin’s proposal to negotiate peace, offering Istanbul as the venue.
“A new window of opportunity has been opened in recent contacts, and I hope this opportunity won’t be in vain,” Erdogan said Monday following a call with Zelensky.
That’s the Trump administration They are increasingly unhappy with the insufficient efforts to mediate peace agreements between Russia and Ukraine.
Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if Ukraine doesn’t make progress, the US “needs to move on.”
