Donald Trump will no longer join Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul as it looks like Russian president Vladimir Putin wonât be there himself.
A US official spoke after Mr Putin announced the Russian delegation for the talks, a list that did not include the Russian leader himself. Washingtonâs special envoy Keith Kellogg had previously said Mr Trump would join the leaders in Istanbul if Putin would be there.
“We’re hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting,” Mr Kellog said. “We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk.â
Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, has said he will go to Istanbul only if Mr Putin does. âIf Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point [showing] that he does not want to end the war. Trump needs to believe that Putin actually lies,â he said.
The Ukrainian president is due to meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Who is part of the Russian delegation to Turkey?
Russia has released the list of their delegation to direct talks with Ukraine on settling the war with Vladimir Putin notably absent.
The delegation is set to include:
- Adviser Vladimir Medinsky
- Deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin, who took part in the last talks held between the two sides in 2022 in the weeks following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour
- Igor Kostyukov, director of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the GRU, Russia’s Foreign Military Intelligence Agency
Mr Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul “without any preconditions”. However, late last night, the Kremlin said Mr Putin’s name was not on the list of those attending.
President Trump will not join Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey
US president Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to join Russia-Ukraine talks today, a US official has said.
The official spoke after Russian revealed who would be in its delegation for the talks, and the list did not include Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump had initially toyed with the idea of going to Turkey if the Russian president were to join the peace talks there in person.
