President Trump said on Monday that he was considering joining talks between Russia and Ukraine that are expected to be held in Istanbul this Thursday.
“I think you may have a good result at the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine. I believe the two leaders are going to be there,” the president told reporters.
“I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday, I’ve got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin first proposed the talks on Sunday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially responded by saying the negotiations were conditional on a ceasefire.
Zelensky appeared to back down on his position, saying on Monday that he was “ready” to travel to Turkey, though he still mentioned the idea of a ceasefire. “I am ready to come to Turkey. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire,” Zelensky said on X.
The Ukrainian leader also welcomed the idea of Trump attending the talks. “It is important that President Trump fully supports the meeting, and we would like him to find an opportunity to come,” Zelensky said.
European leaders are saying that Putin must agree to a ceasefire before the talks, but Trump has called on Ukraine to accept Russia’s proposal for negotiations without preconditions.
So far, the Kremlin has not confirmed that Putin is willing to attend the talks himself. “Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting,” Zelensky said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Putin’s approach to the talks was “aimed at finding a real diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, eliminating the root causes of the conflict, and establishing lasting peace.”
The last time Russia and Ukraine held direct peace talks was back in the early days of the Russian invasion, in March and April 2022. At the time, Russia’s main demand was for Ukrainian neutrality. Those efforts were discouraged by the US, and later that year, Russia declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts and added the recognition of that territory as Russia to its demands to end the war.
