U.S. President Donald Trump will not go to Turkey on Thursday to negotiate direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin will obviously not attend, a U.S. official said.
The official made a speech after Putin announced the meeting of the Russian delegation, which excluded the Russian leader himself. Trump laughed at the idea of going to Turkey, if Putin was there.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reportedly on his way to Ankara, the capital of Türkiye. A senior Ukrainian official said: “We are on the way.
Putin proposed a direct negotiation with Ukraine in Istanbul on Sunday “without any prerequisites”.
Trump urged Ukraine to attend talks earlier this week, and Zelenskyy quickly said he would be there, but only if Putin appeared and established a diplomatic deadlock, part of a clear race to show Trump who wants more peace.
More threats to sanctions
If Ukraine stops fighting without progress, U.S. and Western European leaders threaten to further sanction Russia.
Metro morning7:12Can a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin?
Ukrainian president said he was preparing to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin to participate in this week's ceasefire negotiations – conditional on today's pause. I talked with global affairs analyst Michael Borciukiw about the latest conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Democratic Congressman Jim Himes told CNN that if Putin doesn't go, he has no reason Trump (or Zelenskyy) is in Türkiye.
“I think everyone knows Putin is not interested in real peace talks,” said Hims, Democrat of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.
Hims said the “real question” is how Trump should adjust the U.S. stance on Russia.
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict killed at least 12,700 civilians and injured more than 30,000 people, the United Nations said.
Before returning to the Oval Office, Trump repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in 24 hours. The war continued for three months as the new president, and the war continued.
