Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he hopes the current period of frenetic diplomacy and high-stakes maneuvers between Russia and Ukraine will end with Donald Trump understanding that Vladimir Putin is the real obstacle to a peace agreement, as reported by The Guardian.
„Trump needs to believe that Putin is really lying. And we should do our part. Approach this issue sensitively, to show that we are not the ones slowing down the process,” Zelensky said, speaking to a small group of journalists in his office at the presidential administration in Kyiv.
Zelensky promised to go to Turkey on Thursday, regardless of whether Putin will come for discussions or not. Zelensky specified that he had arranged to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, but he would be ready to fly to Istanbul immediately if the Russian leader shows up. "If Putin does not come and plays games, it is the final point that he does not want to end the war," Zelensky stated on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Putin unexpectedly announced at the Kremlin late at night that he proposed direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul. Zelensky responded by saying that he would personally wait for Putin in Turkey on Thursday.
Trump, who is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, seemed to suggest a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky, stating on Monday: "I think the two leaders will be there. I was thinking of going there by plane."
Zelensky stated that he hopes Trump will indeed meet with him in Turkey. "If Trump comes, he will also push Putin to come," he said. "Trump can really help. It is a situation where the presence of the USA can provide important guarantees," Zelensky pointed out.
Trump's envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, also suggested the possibility of a trilateral summit. "This could be a really great meeting... We hope that President Putin will come, and then President Trump will also be present," he told Fox News.
Kellogg, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff, are also expected in Turkey.
Is Putin Coming?
However, there are few signs that Putin is prepared to make the trip. While not ruling it out directly, Kremlin comments suggest that Russia will rather send a lower-level negotiating team to Istanbul.
"Our delegation will be there and will wait for the Ukrainian side," Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday evening.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that Russia wants to use any discussions to address the "root causes" of the conflict, as Moscow sees them, including the "denazification" of Ukraine and the formal incorporation into Russia of annexed territories - suggesting that the rhetoric of the two sides is still very divergent.
Zelensky said that, in his view, without a ceasefire agreed upon by leaders, it makes no sense to start discussions at a lower level.
"I want you to understand why I would meet with Putin. We will not be able to agree completely now. It's impossible. We have different approaches to life, different worldviews. But we need to find a way to end the war somehow," he said. If he and Putin could agree on a ceasefire, Zelensky said, then lower-level delegations could meet to begin working out the details of the next steps.
The Ukrainian leader recalled previous talks in Saudi Arabia, when Americans acted as intermediaries between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, and a lasting ceasefire could not be agreed upon. "Without signals from leaders or without a leaders' meeting, this format does not work," he emphasized.
However, under pressure from journalists, he refused to rule out sending a lower-level delegation to Istanbul for discussions. "I don't know. I'm honest. Maybe the Americans, maybe someone really wants to launch this format again. I don't know," he said.
Sanctions and a Secret
If no agreement is reached during the meetings in Turkey this week, the big question is whether Europeans can bring Trump alongside them in their plans to increase pressure on Moscow.
Zelensky stated that he hopes new sanctions will soon be on the agenda if Thursday's meetings yield no results.
"I believe that President Trump is not against imposing sanctions, and I think there is political will in Congress to vote for these sanctions. I believe Americans are very close to imposing these sanctions," Zelensky commented. He added that consultations will take place in the coming days - "if you allow me, I will not say where or when," mentioned the president - during which Europeans will be informed about the future US sanctions plans.
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian president has walked a diplomatic tightrope, with Kyiv trying to stay on the side of the Trump administration. After the disastrous meeting at the White House at the end of February, Zelensky seems to have succeeded in changing the relationship, culminating in a positive meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral in the Vatican last month.
Asked what he told Trump to convince him again, Zelensky refused to respond: "I will not tell you. I know the reasons; in my opinion, I know why we had such a good discussion. But I can't say, I simply can't," the leader from Kyiv stated.
British and French officials have regularly discussed with their Ukrainian counterparts since the White House failure and have offered guidance on how to repair relations with the American administration.
Zelensky stated that the connection with European allies has been closer and more frequent than ever, and French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the "two or three" leaders he spoke with regularly on the phone. "He has a very creative approach... He is a risk-taker. And those who take risks can be different types of people, but they are all focused on results. They do not put themselves above everything else," Zelensky commented.
After his visit to Turkey, Zelensky is expected to visit Albania for a meeting with European politicians on Friday, and then he may travel to Rome, where he suggested he might attend the inaugural service of the new Pope, Pope Leon XIV, after having a positive phone call with him earlier this week. "I think it could happen on Sunday," Zelensky said. "If it works out. We don't know what this week will bring. We've reached the point where we don't know what will happen tomorrow," confessed the President of Ukraine.