Ukraine talks won’t progress unless ‘Putin and I get together’ – Trump

The US president had previously suggested he might attend peace negotiations in Istanbul

RT: US President Donald Trump © Getty Images / Andrew Harnik / Staff

US President Donald Trump has said that only a personal meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will lead to progress in resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Delegations from Moscow and Kiev were expected to meet in Istanbul on May 15, following Putin’s proposal last week to resume direct dialogue aimed at a lasting settlement. The Kremlin team waited for Kiev’s representatives to arrive beginning on Thursday morning. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky announced later in the day that he was sending a delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The talks have reportedly been pushed back to Friday.

Trump, who earlier urged Kiev to accept Putin’s proposal “immediately,” told reporters on Thursday, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.”

Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to the UAE, Trump suggested Putin had not planned to travel to Türkiye because Trump himself had not publicly committed to attending.

“He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get this off, because too many people are dying.”

Earlier this week, the US president floated the idea of joining the Istanbul talks but later downplayed the possibility, citing a full schedule.

On Thursday morning, he told journalists, “If something happened, I’d go on Friday if it was appropriate.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no preparations underway for a meeting between the Russian and US leaders in the near future. The Kremlin has announced that Putin has no plans to travel to Türkiye.