Trump says he will meet Putin in the Ukrainian war, “as soon as possible” in Ukraine – Russia's hopes of talk low
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – President Trump said on Friday that he will hold direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible Putin chooses to skip Between peace negotiations Russia and Ukraine In Türkiye.
Mr. Trump told reporters that he had made a four-day visit to the Middle East, saying, “I think it’s time.” Later, he told Air Force One reporters that he might call Putin soon after set out for Washington.
“He and I will meet and I think we'll fix it, or maybe not,” Trump said. “At least we'll know. If we don't fix it, it'll be very interesting.”
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The president reiterated that he was not surprised by Putin's decision to skip talks held in Türkiye on Friday. Trump said Putin doesn't want to go because he is not there.
A meeting between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia did take place in Istanbul on Friday, although Putin sent a low-level delegation. This prompted Ukraine and its European partners to charge that Moscow was not interested in negotiating a settlement of the war.
After the meeting, Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, said in a statement that the two countries agreed to “in the days to come” that they would conduct a large-scale exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war on both sides. He also said Russia had “note” Ukraine’s request for direct negotiations between heads of state and that both sides “will propose a vision of a possible future ceasefire.” Once a detailed outline is proposed, the negotiations will continue.
Mr. Trump said he would hold a meeting with Putin, “we can have a meeting right away.”
“I'm actually going to leave here,” he said, with his daughter Tiffany just giving birth to her first child. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”
Ukrainian President Vodimir Zelenskyy agrees to attend the talks Mr. Trump urged leaders to find a solution to the war, which has been underway since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Putin refused a call to meet Zelenskyy in person.
Mr. Trump has urged the two sides to quickly reach an agreement to end the war. Zelenskyy has agreed to develop a first 30-day hostilities plan, but Russia has not signed it yet and continues to attack targets in Ukraine.
oleksandr oleksiienko/kordon.media/Global Image Ukraine/Getty 
“He didn't leave, I understand that,” Trump said Friday. Putin decided to skip talks in Istanbul. “We're going to finish it. We have to finish it. Five thousand young people are killed on average every week, and we're going to finish it.”
The U.S. president told reporters on Thursday that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
“Whether you like it or not, I don't believe anything will happen until he and I get together,” Mr. Trump said. “But we're going to have to fix it because so many people are dying.”
Speaking to a reporter in Moscow on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any meeting between Putin and Trump must be “fully prepared” but said that in Russia's view, such encounters are indeed necessary because “a serious dialogue on international issues is needed, including the Ukrainian crisis.”
Zelenskyy said on Friday that if the negotiations in Istanbul fail to make any progress, there should be a “strong reaction” and it is clear that Russia has no interest in ending the war.
Contributed to this report.
