Donald Trump's 10-word verdict after Putin snubs Zelensky talks
President Donald Trump implied that Presidents Putin and Zelensky cannot reach a deal without his presence at the negotiating table.
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine will not be able to reach a deal without him.
"Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay?" Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
The comments come ahead of peace talks slated to occur today in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia after over three years of fighting, in which hundreds of thousands have been killed since Russia's invasion.
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Trump went on to claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin "obviously" wasn't going to go, but had only considered it because he thought Trump would be in attendance.
"And obviously he wasn't going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go," Trump continued.
Doubling down on his belief that he does not think Russia and Ukraine can reach an agreement without him, Trump added, "He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together, but we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."
Trump's remarks came after suggesting at a meeting among business leaders in Doha earlier in the day that he would make an appearance under certain circumstances.
“If something happened, I’d go Friday, if it was appropriate,” Trump said.
He added that he believes the delegation being sent should be able to manage and expressed hope for the two warring countries to strike a permanent ceasefire deal.
“We have people right now negotiating, and I think that I just hope that Russia and Ukraine are able to do something.”
Russian President Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's offer to meet in person in Turkey on Thursday. The historic meeting would have been the first time the leaders had spoken face-to-face in over half a decade.
However, the Kremlin opted to send a delegation of aides and deputy ministers to negotiate on behalf of Russia.
This could pose difficulties as Zelensky, who is currently in Istanbul to meet with Turkish President Erdoğan, made an ultimatum that he will not attend the peace talks without his Russian counterpart.
