President Donald Trump expressed on Friday his intent to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine “as soon as we can arrange it.”
The president, speaking from Abu Dhabi during the last stop of his four-day Middle East tour, said: “I think it’s time for us to just do it.”
Trump had said earlier that a meeting between him and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
Earlier this week, Russian President Putin rejected an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for direct peace talks in Istanbul. Trump noted that he doesn’t believe Putin would participate in the discussions unless he himself was present.
Regardless, Zelenskyy announced that he was dispatching a delegation, led by his defense minister, to the meeting in Istanbul on Friday. Zelenskyy commented that this action would demonstrate to Trump Ukraine’s commitment to pursue peace talks despite Russia’s hesitance, amid significant diplomatic activity from both Kyiv and Moscow.
The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Russian delegation and some officials ahead of the Istanbul talks, on May 14, 2025 in Moscow, Russia. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ahead of Friday’s talks, a three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, per Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg.
Rubio on Thursday said he did not foresee any major breakthroughs in Istanbul.
“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
