Abu Dhabi, May 15 (EFE).— US President Donald Trump on Thursday cast doubt over the outcome of potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey, suggesting no real progress will be made unless he personally meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Nothing’s gonna happen until Putin and I get together, ok?,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he landed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
He was asked whether he was disappointed by the composition of Russia’s delegation, which did not include President Putin or any of his senior ministers, to the Istanbul talks.
“I’m not disappointed in anything. Why would I be? You are disappointed about a delegation? I know nothing about a delegation, I haven’t even checked.”
Trump insisted that Putin would attend the negotiations if he would go.
“Obviously — he wasn’t going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there.”
With those remarks, the US president appeared to rule out participating in the Istanbul discussions, which are expected to begin this afternoon.
“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together. But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying,” Trump said.
Trump had earlier floated the possibility of making a stopover in Turkey on Friday after his whirlwind Middle East tour.
“If something happened, I would go on Friday if it was appropriate,” he said during a business roundtable in Doha.
Both Russia and the United States have prepared delegations to direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, aiming for a possible resolution to the war that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion, the Turkish government said Thursday.
Ankara has not confirmed whether Turkish mediators will take part in the meeting, the first of its kind since the earlier rounds of talks broke down in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently in Ankara, where he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Thursday.
Upon landing in Turkey, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was in with the US delegation regarding talks with Russia but was not exactly aware of the Russian team.
“Officially, I am not aware of the Russian’s level (of representation). But from what we’ve seen they look like stand-in props.”
Zelenskyy is expected to confirm Ukraine’s position and participation in the Istanbul talks.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin reiterated that Putin has no plans to attend the meeting. His potential visit to Turkey, officials said, would depend on the outcome of the negotiations. EFE
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