Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Donald Trump to assist in initiating ceasefire talks with Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky emphasizes that the West should enforce sanctions if Russia’s leader skips the negotiations in Turkey.

The Kremlin has not confirmed whether Putin will attend the meeting tomorrow, which he himself suggested.

Any talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials would be their first direct negotiation since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.

On Monday, US President Trump, who is on a State visit to the Middle East, said he was thinking about attending.

Zelensky said: “I don’t know Trump’s decision, but if he confirms, it would give impetus for Putin to go.

“Putin doesn’t want the war to end.”

The Kremlin said it was preparing for negotiations but would not say who it was sending.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The Russian side continues to prepare for the talks scheduled for Thursday.

“That is all we can say at this point.

“We do not intend to comment further at this time”.