US President Donald Trump teased on Monday the possibility of attending peace talks on Thursday between Ukraine and Russia in person.
Referencing the upcoming talks in Turkey during Monday’s White House Press Conference, Trump said he “was thinking about actually flying over there” to Turkey but said he “[doesn’t] know where [he’s] going to be on Thursday.”
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“I insisted that [the] meeting take place. I think you’ll have a good result on the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said. He earlier urged Ukraine to “immediately” agree to the talks.
“I believe the two leaders will be there. I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday. I’ve got so many meetings. I was thinking about actually flying over there,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he would attend in person. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has yet to respond whether he will show up.
Following Trump’s comments, Zelensky wrote on X that “all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us.”
“I supported President Trump with the idea of direct talks with Putin. I have openly expressed my readiness to meet. I will be in Türkiye. I hope that the Russians will not evade the meeting,” Zelensky said.
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“And of course, all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Türkiye. This is the right idea. We can change a lot,” he added.
Trump is scheduled to visit the Middle East this week in his first major international trip of his second term as president, with stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This follows an evolving cycle of signals from the Kremlin, Kyiv, Washington, and Brussels recently about the sequence of conditions for peace talks.
Proposals and counterproposals
One day after Putin met with foreign guests in Moscow for the May 9 Victory Day celebrations, European leaders, including the heads of the UK, Germany, France and Poland, met with Zelensky in Kyiv and reiterated their demands for a ceasefire.
The leaders urged the Kremlin to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire by Monday, threatening Moscow with more sanctions.
On Sunday, Putin instead proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15, without addressing the ceasefire proposal.
This comes after Russian forces violated the claimed 72-hour ceasefire Putin had proposed to coincide with the Russian Victory Day ceremony in Moscow on May 9, attended by the leaders of over 20 countries.
On Monday, the Kremlin responded to increased pressure for the 30-day ceasefire by saying, “This language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia. It doesn’t work. You can’t talk to Russia like that.”
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