Zelensky urges Trump to Make Putin Meeting Happen in Istanbul

Zelensky said in Kiev that the West should impose massive sanctions if Putin skips the meeting, emphasising that he would do "everything" possible to make it happen and secure a ceasefire.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in the U.S. delegation at the talks in Istanbul which "could be some pretty good results," Trump said in Riyadh as he started a four-day Middle East trip.

The Kremlin has refused to say whether Putin will travel to Türkiye, after he himself proposed Russia-Ukraine talks in a weekend Kremlin address.

Putin's spokesman refused to say who Moscow would send to the talks.

"This is his war," Zelensky said, "therefore, the negotiations should be with him".

Any meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials would be the first direct negotiations since the early months of Moscow's February 2022 invasion.

Trump came to office in January promising a swift end to the war, but has become increasingly frustrated at what he sees as the failure of Kiev and Moscow to compromise over the bloodshed.

Trump said Monday that he was "thinking" about going to the talks.

"I do not know the U.S. president's decision, but if he confirms his participation, I think it would give additional impetus for Putin to come," Zelensky told a press conference.

"Putin does not want the war to end, does not want a ceasefire, does not want any negotiations," Zelensky said, adding however that he "will do everything to ensure that this meeting takes place".

Russian airstrikes killed two people in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv, which is on the border with Russia, authorities said.

Zelensky urged the United States to hit Russia with its "strongest" ever sanctions should Putin not turn up — saying a refusal would be "a clear signal that they do not want and are not going to end the war".

  'De-Nazification' 

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia would use the talks to address its key aims and the "root causes" of the conflict — the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine and the "incorporation of new territories into the Russian Federation".

Kiev and the West reject those narratives, calling Russia's invasion an imperial-style land grab.

Putin proposed Russia-Ukraine talks after Kiev and European countries urged Moscow to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday.

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine, while Moscow's army now controls around one-fifth of the country — including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.

Source: Reuters