Zelensky urges Trump to make Putin meeting happen

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged US counterpart Donald Trump to help secure a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday, while accusing the Russian leader of not seriously wanting to end the war.

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

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

Mr Trump is also sending senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, three sources familiar with the plans said.

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

"This is his war," Mr 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.

Mr 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 Kyiv and Moscow to compromise over the bloodshed.

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

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

"Putin does not want the war to end, does not want a ceasefire, does not want any negotiations," Mr 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.

Mr Zelensky urged the US to hit Russia with its "strongest" ever sanctions should Mr 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".

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

Zelensky insists on face-to-face talks with Putin in Istanbul

Mr Zelensky has said he would attend talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine this week only if Mr Putin is also there, and goaded him by claiming the Russian president was scared to meet him face-to-face.

He said he wanted to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a step toward ending the war, and that Mr Putin should take part in talks because "absolutely everything in Russia" depends on him.

"We want to agree on a beginning to the end of the war," Mr Zelensky told a press conference. But he added: "He (Putin) is scared of direct talks with me."

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas questioned whether Putin had the nerve to show up.

"I think it's a good move if they sit down," Ms Kallas told a democracy conference in Copenhagen.

"But I don't think he dares, Putin."

Both Russia and Ukraine have sought to show they are working towards peace after Mr Trump prioritised ending the war, which has raged since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but have yet to agree any clear path.

Mr Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine, after ignoring a Ukrainian offer for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Mr Trump publicly told Mr Zelensky to accept the proposal.

The Ukrainian leader then said he would be waiting for Mr Putin in Istanbul on Thursday, though the Kremlin chief had never made clear he intended to travel himself.

Asked who would represent Russia at the talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it."

Trump may attend

During a speech in Saudi Arabia, Mr Trump said Mr Rubio would attend the talks on Thursday, as well as others.

"We'll see if we can get it done," he added.

Mr Kellogg, in an earlier interview on Fox, said Mr Trump would join the talks in Istanbul if Mr Putin showed up.

"We're hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting," he said.

"We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk," he added.

Newly elected Pope Leo promised Mr Zelensky yesterday that he would do his best to help bring about a just and lasting peace, an aide for Mr Zelensky said.

Reuters reported last year that Mr Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire with Mr Trump but that Russia ruled out making any major territorial concessions and demanded that Ukraine abandon ambitions to join NATO.

Ukraine has said it is ready for talks, but a ceasefire is needed first, a position supported by its European allies.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Russia was ready for serious talks but doubted Ukraine's capacity for negotiations.

The agencies quoted him as saying realities "on the ground" should be recognised, including the incorporation of what the Kremlin calls "new territories" into Russia - a reference to territory in Ukraine that is occupied by Russian forces.

US officials want Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, a senior US official said.