‘I don’t think anything is going to happen until he and I sit down,’ the U.S. President said.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested there will be no progress in potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine until he meets in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“Look, nothing is going to happen until Putin and I meet, OK?” Trump said when asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he was disappointed by the level of the Russian delegation sent to Türkiye.

“I’m not disappointed in anything… Why would I be?” Trump said, adding that he “didn’t even check” who was leading the Russian delegation in Turkey.

The U.S. president said Putin “obviously” would have attended the negotiations in Istanbul if Trump himself had gone: “He wasn’t going to go if I didn’t go,” Trump stated, implying that he would not attend the planned talks later in the day.

“I don’t think anything is going to happen, like it or not, until he and I sit down. But we’ll have to arrange it because too many people are dying,” Trump added.

Russia and the United States have already prepared their delegations to participate in direct negotiations with Ukrainian authorities in Istanbul, seeking a negotiated resolution to the conflict.

The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not yet confirmed the participation of its mediators in the Russian-Ukrainian talks, which are being held for the first time since 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Ankara, where he has held a meeting with Erdogan. Meanwhile, the Kremlin confirmed that Putin has no plans to travel to Istanbul.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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