President Donald Trump said there would be no progress on peace in Ukraine until he and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet.
His comments come as delegations from Ukraine and Russia wait to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first set of direct talks in more than three years. It is not clear if the meeting will still go ahead.
“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One just before landing in the UAE, Reuters reported.
Trump had previously urged Russia and Ukraine to have the meeting in Istanbul and that he was optimistic about their chances of success.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even traveled to Turkey and challenged Putin to meet him face-to-face, an offer Putin declined, opting instead to send a low-level delegation. Zelensky called the Russian delegation “theatrical”.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told reporters there were no plans in place for a meeting with Trump, state news agency TASS reported.
Trump had posted to Truth Social on May 11 that Putin wanted “to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH.”
It was not clear if Trump meant Putin personally or a Russian delegation.
“Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!” Trump posted.
“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”
This is a breaking news story and more information will be added soon.
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