🔴 Website 👉 https://u-s-news.com/
Telegram 👉 https://t.me/usnewscom_channel
OAN Staff James Meyers
7:44 AM – Thursday, May 15, 2025
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wasn’t surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin was skipping the peace talks meeting with Ukraine, stating that nothing will happen until he is there to meet with him personally.
Advertisement
The 47th president had been urging the Russian president to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Thursday, but while speaking with reporters he brushed off the decision by the Kremlin.
“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay?” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked about the peace talks.
“And obviously, he wasn’t going to go. He was going to go — but he thought I was going to go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there,” he continued.
“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.”
When asked by reporters of Putin’s decision to send a team of aides instead of being there himself, Trump said: “I’m not disappointed in anything.”
“Why would I be disappointed? We just took in $4 trillion and he says are you disappointed about a delegation?’” the president said, referring to business deals that were announced during his trip throughout the Middle East.
Previously, the 47th president had brought up the idea of traveling to Istanbul if there was enough progress made in mediation talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“If something happened I would go on Friday if it was appropriate,” Trump told reporters in Qatar after high stakes business discussions.
He also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already there representing the United States.
However, as the Russian president had no desire to attend the peace talks, Putin stated that his Russian delegation was there and ready to meet with Ukranian reps.
Asked if the Kremlin would attend had the 47th president showed up for the peace talks, Russian Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia didn’t know yet how the negotiations would take shape.
“It is premature to say what kind of participation will be required and at what level because we do not know if the Ukrainian negotiators will show up or not and how the negotiations will go,” Peskov said.
Meanwhile, Zelensky described the Russian personnel Putin put in place for the talks as “decorative.”
“We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions,” he said after arriving in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
After being asked what his message to Putin would be, the Ukrainian president said: “I’m here. I think this is a clear message.”
The call for peace talks between the two leaders comes as heavy bloodshed has taken place during the almost three-year war.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts