President Trump said Friday he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as it could be set up as Trump pushes for peace talks in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Turkey this week for discussions with Russian officials about a potential ceasefire, but Putin did not attend, sending an adviser instead. Trump has indicated he was unsurprised by Putin’s absence, arguing the Russian leader had no reason to attend if Trump was not there.
“They all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. And I said, ‘If I don’t go, I guarantee Putin is not going,’ and he didn’t go,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “And I understand that, but we’re going to get it, we’re going to get it done. We’ve got to get it done.”
Asked when he would meet with Putin, Trump replied, “As soon as we can set it up.”
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border between the countries.
The Trump administration has pushed Russia and Ukraine to agree to a pause in fighting. Ukraine has said it would agree to a 30-day ceasefire, while Russia has made no such commitment. Critics have argued Putin is uninterested in peace talks.
Trump has in recent days been adamant that he must meet with Putin for there to be any serious progress.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met on Friday in Istanbul for their first direct peace talks in three years.