U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering traveling to Turkey on Thursday to attend possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
“I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a Middle East visit.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland, called on Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire beginning Monday as a prerequisite for renewed negotiations.
Moscow has not responded to the ceasefire request. Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15—a move that has received Trump’s backing.
In a statement late Sunday, Zelensky said he is open to meeting Putin in Turkey but did not clarify whether he would attend if Russia refuses the ceasefire.
Ukraine and Russia previously held direct negotiations in Istanbul shortly after the war began in February 2022, but those efforts failed to produce a lasting agreement.
