Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that he hoped US President Donald Trump would attend peace talks in Turkey this week, after Zelenskyy on Sunday extended an invitation of sorts to Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet there in person.
Trump, who is on a state visit to the Gulf region, had indicated he might attend if “useful.” Putin has not responded.
Zelenskyy’s pledge that he would “be waiting for Putin… Personally,” came after European leaders gathered in Kyiv to pressure Moscow to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Kyiv had previously said it wouldn’t enter into direct talks with Moscow without a truce already in place — to do otherwise was seen as “a show of weakness; of Ukraine and its partners blinking first,” The Economist wrote — but has shifted its stance likely to remain in favor with the US president, who has repeatedly urged Zelenskyy to meet with Putin.