On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated the possibility of visiting Turkey on Thursday to engage in discussions regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, contingent upon the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has remained tight-lipped about the composition of its delegation for the upcoming negotiations, marking the first direct talks since spring 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated he is open to “any form of negotiation” to conclude the war with Russia, mentioning that he will determine “the steps to take” once the Russian representation in the Istanbul talks is confirmed.
In his daily address on Wednesday evening, he said, “I am waiting to see who will attend from Russia. After that, I will decide the actions Ukraine will take,” emphasizing Ukraine’s readiness for “any form of negotiation, and we are not afraid of meetings.”
This statement followed hours after a Ukrainian official confirmed that Kyiv has yet to receive a response regarding Putin’s presence.
The official noted, “President Zelensky proposed the meeting on Sunday, just three days ago… and by Wednesday afternoon, we still hadn’t received any response from Putin.”
Zelensky invited Putin to attend the meeting “in person,” after the Russian leader suggested direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in Turkey to initiate a diplomatic resolution following over three years of conflict.
Putin has remained silent on this matter despite publicly appearing several times since Zelensky’s proposal. However, Trump, advocating for a swift end to the war, mentioned on Wednesday that he might visit Turkey if Putin attends.
While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, Trump stated, “I don’t know if Putin will attend if I’m not there… I know he wants me there, and that’s a possibility.” He added that his schedule for Thursday is “full.”
During a daily briefing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to disclose the identities of the Russian delegates tasked with talks with Ukraine.
He responded to inquiries by saying, “Nothing has changed in this regard.” Peskov merely confirmed, “The Russian delegation will wait for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15, which is tomorrow.”
Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov stated on Russian television that he expects the meeting to take place on Thursday “in the morning,” with “political” and “technical” issues on the agenda.
Regardless of Putin’s attendance, Kyiv has confirmed that Zelensky will head to Ankara on Wednesday or Thursday for discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that his Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be in Turkey as part of the discussions. However, a senior U.S. official indicated that Rubio would travel to Istanbul on “Friday,” adding to the uncertainty surrounding the timing of the negotiations.
If these talks proceed, they will represent the first direct negotiations between the two countries since the early months of the conflict in 2022, when they held a series of bilateral meetings, including some in Istanbul, which did not yield significant outcomes.
Peace
Since then, both sides have failed to reach an agreement, sticking to their positions. Trump has been seeking to broker a resolution to end the war since returning to the White House in early 2025, reopening direct channels of communication with Putin for this purpose, while Washington has attempted to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow.
The Russian president has presented a series of demands to end the conflict, viewing them as necessary to address the “roots” of the dispute, such as the rejection of Ukraine’s future NATO membership, retaining the Ukrainian territories annexed after the onset of the attack in 2022, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Kyiv and its allies categorically reject these terms.
On the other hand, Ukraine demands strong Western “security guarantees” to prevent any further Russian aggression and the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces, which currently control approximately 20% of its territory, despite calls from Russia to accept the “new realities” on the ground.