Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping that President Donald Trump can attend planned peace talks with Russia in Turkey later this week.
Zelensky appealed to Trump on X Monday, asking him for his full support and potentially a visit to Turkey to discuss a possible cease-fire deal.
“Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to come to Türkiye. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
“President Erdoğan has expressed full readiness to host the meeting. It is important that President Trump fully supports the meeting, and we would like him to find an opportunity to come to Türkiye,” he added.
Trump expressed optimism Monday about the upcoming talks between Russia and Ukraine but demurred on the question of whether he would personally attend them.
“I think we may see a good result from Thursday’s meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump told reporters.
“I believe both leaders are going to be there. I even thought about flying over — I’m not sure where I’ll be on Thursday, I have so many meetings.”
The possibility of Zelensky meeting Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin comes after Zelensky and his European allies voiced support for a 30-day cease-fire agreement to kick-start further peace negotiations. Zelensky and several European nations had a meeting and then spoke with Trump over the weekend about a potential 30-day cease-fire to begin Monday.
On Sunday, Trump urged Putin to accept the cease-fire proposal and pushed for the Ukrainian and Russian leaders to meet face-to-face in Turkey in the coming days. He said the talks would demonstrate whether or not a deal is possible and expressed doubts about the prospects.
“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The European cease-fire proposal went unheeded by Russia, as the Kremlin continued launching drone attacks on Ukraine Monday. European leaders have threatened to increase sanctions on Russia if they do not accept a cease-fire proposal, but the specifics remain unclear. Russia has not yet disclosed who will be attending the peace talks in response to Zelensky’s personal invitation to Putin.
“Overall, we’re determined to seriously look for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement. That is all,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Monday. Putin offered over the weekend to restart direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul rather than observe a cease-fire, with the intent of building on the peace talks in 2022, shortly after the war began.
Last week, Trump renewed his demand for a lasting cease-fire to halt the conflict in Ukraine, and he threatened further sanctions on Russia if they come to a cease-fire agreement but do not honor it. The U.S. and Ukraine finalized a minerals deal at the start of May that grants the U.S. access to Ukraine’s abundance of rare earth minerals in exchange for a security guarantee to prevent future Russian aggression.
The fighting in Ukraine began more than three years ago with Putin’s invasion, with the objective of annexing Ukrainian territory. Russia has seized roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, and tens of thousands — and possibly hundreds of thousands — of soldiers on both sides have died throughout the conflict.