Trump Says He’ll Join Ukraine-Russia Talks in Istanbul ‘If Appropriate’

US President Donald Trump said he may visit Turkey on Friday, May 16, to attend Ukraine-Russia talks.

“Trump, who is on a three-nation tour of the Middle East, said on Thursday he would go to the talks in Turkey on Friday, “if it is appropriate,” as per a Reuters report.

Responding to a question about Putin’s absence from the talks, Trump said he hadn’t expected Putin to attend.

“I didn’t anticipate. I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going? Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to go. I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go and I said, “I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.” And that’s turned out to be right,” he said.

Trump added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was present and “doing a fantastic job,” along with other US representatives.

“But I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” he told reporters.

A Russian delegation landed in Istanbul on Thursday for the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in over three years, Russian state media reported, without Russian leader Vladimir Putin, despite calls from world leaders urging his presence.

Putin was not on the Kremlin’s list of negotiators released late Wednesday, after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly challenged him to attend in person.

“This is his war... Therefore, the negotiations should be with him,” Zelensky said.

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Instead, Putin dispatched a lower-level team headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide who led the failed 2022 talks during the early weeks of the invasion.

The absence of Putin – as well as top diplomats like Sergei Lavrov or Yuri Ushakov – raises doubts about the seriousness of the talks or the potential for any breakthrough.

A Ukrainian official told AFP that Zelensky planned to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, not Istanbul, later on Thursday, and would decide his approach afterward.

“The president starts his visit with Erdogan in Ankara, and only then will the president decide on the next steps,” the official said.

Ukraine also dismissed Russian media claims that the talks would begin at 10 a.m. local time.

“Russian fake news,” said Zelensky’s spokesman.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected in Istanbul on Friday for meetings with European counterparts to discuss Ukraine and other regional concerns.

Despite the diplomatic push, the two sides remain far apart. Russia’s lead negotiator, Medinsky, is known for promoting Moscow’s historical claims over Ukraine and for demanding sweeping territorial concessions and demilitarization in the past.

The Russian team includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, and GRU chief Igor Kostyukov.

Ukraine has not named its delegation. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is currently in Turkey for a NATO meeting in Antalya.

Putin met with his delegation and top security officials in Moscow on Wednesday before their departure, but gave no public comments.

Russia says the talks must address the “root causes” of the war, including the “denazification” and “demilitarisation” of Ukraine - vague terms rejected by Kyiv and the West.

Moscow also insists Ukraine cede occupied territories and withdraw from areas still under its control. Kyiv, meanwhile, is calling for an immediate 30-day ceasefire.