President Trump said Thursday he was not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a no-show for peace talks with Ukraine being held in Turkey, attributing it to his own absence.
“I actually said, ‘Why would he go if I’m not going?’” Trump told reporters in Qatar. “I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go, and I said ‘I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.’”
The president left open the possibility of going to Turkey on Friday, though he acknowledged he had a full schedule on his next stop in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates.
“If something happened I would go on Friday if it was appropriate,” Trump said.
The president, speaking later Thursday aboard Air Force One, told reporters “nothing is going to happen” on Ukraine talks “until Putin and I get together.” The two men have spoken on the phone in recent weeks, but there are no concrete plans for them to meet in person.
Putin did not attend direct talks with Ukraine being held in Turkey on Thursday, instead sending an adviser. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Turkey for the talks, as did U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Zelensky called Russia’s level of representation at the talks “theatrical.”
“It is essential to understand the level of the Russian delegation, what mandate they hold, and whether they are authorised to make any decisions at all – because we all know who actually makes decisions in Russia,” Zelensky posted on X.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border.
The Trump administration has pushed Russia and Ukraine to agree to a pause in fighting. Ukraine has said it would agree to a 30-day ceasefire, while Russia has made no such commitment. Critics have argued Putin is uninterested in peace talks.
Updated at 8:09 a.m.
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