President Putin has declined to meet President Zelensky in Istanbul for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, sending instead a low-level delegation headed by a former culture minister in a move that will quash hopes of a breakthrough.
Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet face-to-face in Turkey for the first direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow since the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
President Trump also said that he could join the talks if there were indications that a deal could be agreed to end the war. However, after it emerged that Putin would not be attending, a US official said that Trump would not be travelling to Turkey.
