Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks in Turkey Thursday even though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier said he was willing to sit down face-to-face with the pugilistic strongman to try to negotiate an end to the brutal Russia-Ukraine war that has raged on since the Russian Federation invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
Although U.S President Donald Trump had hinted that he might show up if things looked promising, he has now nixed those plans, considering Putin will be a no-show:
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats.
Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday "without any preconditions." Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.
Background: New: Zelensky Agrees to Go Face-to-Face With Putin on Thursday
Could Trump Drop in on Putin–Zelensky Meeting Thursday? He Says He Just Might
Putin confirmed he will NOT be headed to negotiations with Zelensky in Istanbul on Thursday, but will send delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky.
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 14, 2025
Rubio will be in attendance as well.
My guess is, that Trump and Putin’s teams will feel out the situation to see if Zelensky is… pic.twitter.com/RRB1MQdtW5
The above tweet continues:
My guess is, that Trump and Putin’s teams will feel out the situation to see if Zelensky is serious about making a deal to end this war, and if so, Trump and Putin could potentially arrive Friday to finalize the peace deal.
That would make the most sense, based on Trump’s comments from AF1 earlier about being willing to go to Istanbul, being booked at UAE on Thursday, and about Marco looking into the situation.
Trump is willing to go to Istanbul, only if the deal is for sure going to get done, and it appears Putin feels the same way. Everything hinges on how talks go with Zelensky tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Putin’s unwillingness to negotiate directly puts a damper on hopes of a new agreement that would stop the carnage of the pointless war:
While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and U.S. presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had challenged the Kremlin leader to attend the talks "if he's not afraid," in an apparent contest to show Trump who wants peace more. Zelenskiy [sic] was on his way to Turkey, a Ukrainian official said. Earlier, the Kyiv leader has said he would take part in the negotiations only if Putin were there.
Related: Trump Speaks to Presidents of Syria and Turkey, Plots a Path Forward
This is a constantly developing situation, and things could change in a heartbeat in these high-stakes negotiations. RedState will keep you apprised of any new developments.
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