During his Middle East trip, US President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday morning that he may also join if Russian President Vladimir Putin goes to the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not going to Turkey to participate in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
A Kremlin statement said that the Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky in the talks to be held in Istanbul on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that he was ready to participate in the talks directly if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed.
Zelensky will arrive in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday for the talks, where he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Zelensky and Putin last met face to face in December 2019. Then Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022. After that, the two presidents held talks, but the two presidents did not meet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions in Turkey. Zelensky later announced that he would travel to the country to participate in the talks directly. He hoped that Putin would be there.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who was on a trip to the Middle East, indicated on Wednesday morning that he might join the talks if Russian President Vladimir Putin went.
The US is expected to send a high-level delegation to the talks. The delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
