President Donald Trump was not phased by Russian President Vladimir Putin opting not to attend peace talks with Ukrainian officials in Turkey, saying he did not expect Putin to go if he was not there.
The Kremlin confirmed Thursday that Putin would not attend talks in Turkey with Ukrainian officials, after he proposed the meeting over the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Turkey Thursday and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but called Russia’s “low-level” delegation “a sign of disrespect.”
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While Zelensky was disappointed in the lack of high-profile representatives from Russia willing to meet, Trump said earlier Thursday morning he was not surprised the Russian president did not go.
“No, I didn’t anticipate. I actually said, ‘Why would he go if I’m not going?’ Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to. 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.’ And that turned out to be right,” Trump said.
The president reiterated that there is a U.S. diplomatic presence in Turkey, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but reiterated he did not believe it would be possible for Putin to attend the talks without him present.
Talks were in flux for the days leading up to Thursday, with Zelensky saying he would decide whether to engage with the Russian delegation after meeting with Erdoğan. Zelensky posted on X after the meeting to denounce Russia’s delegation and thank Erdoğan for supporting steps toward peace talks.
“We will continue close coordination to ensure that negotiations are truly resultative. Today, Russia once again demonstrated that it does not intend to end the war, having sent a delegation of rather low-level representatives. Moreover, such a Russian approach is a sign of disrespect — toward the world and all partners. We expect a clear and strong response from partners,” Zelensky said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since Spring 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.