Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a high-stakes meeting in Turkey aimed at ending the three-year-long war in Ukraine.
Despite proposing the direct talks in Istanbul, Putin’s name did not appear on a list released by the Kremlin on Wednesday of Russian officials who would be attending the negotiations, according to the BBC.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has not had a face-to-face meeting with Putin since 2019, is expected to be in Istanbul for the talks taking place on Thursday.
Zelensky will be joined by a high-level US delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
President Trump, who is visiting the Middle East, is not expected to attend the meeting, despite floating the possibility that he might earlier this week.
Russia’s delegation will be headed by top Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kremlin.
Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, suggested on Sunday that Ukraine and Russia hold direct talks “without pre-conditions” in Turkey’s largest city.
Trump urged Zelensky to take Putin up on the offer shortly after the proposal was floated.
“Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday. “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!”
“HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!.” the president added.
The same day, Zelensky announced that he would “be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally.”
Trump, who pledged on the 2024 campaign trail to quickly end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, is optimistic about the meeting.
“I think we’re having some pretty good news coming out of there today and maybe tomorrow and maybe Friday, frankly,” he said in Qatar on Wednesday. “But we’ll see about that.”
Trump added that if a peace agreement is not reached, secondary sanctions could be imposed against Russia.
“As you know, I put secondary sanctions on Iran again, and hopefully they’re going to make the right decision, because something’s going to happen one way or the other,” he said.
