US President Donald Trump wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face as soon as possible after the conclusion of high-level direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
According to a report by the British media outlet BBC, US President Trump said, ‘Nothing will happen until Putin and I sit down together.’
In response to questions from reporters during his Middle East trip, Trump said, ‘I will meet with Putin as soon as possible.’
Trump said that he wanted to mediate in the Ukraine-Russia war in Turkey on his way back to Washington, but due to his busy schedule, it was not possible. During his Middle East trip, he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “There will be no major breakthrough in the talks until Trump and Putin meet face to face.”
Although Trump and Putin have spoken on the phone several times since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, they have not met face to face so far.
Although no date has been set for a meeting yet, Trump is optimistic about the peace process.
On Thursday (May 15), representatives of Ukraine and Russia were scheduled to hold the first direct peace talks in Turkey. However, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to attend the meeting, in the end, Russian President Putin sent representatives instead of going himself.