United States President Donald Trump has again expressed his willingness to stop in Turkey during his Middle East tour if it would convince his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to participate in talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow - to end the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will travel to Turkey on May 15 to meet face-to-face with Putin, after the latter called for direct talks - but without clarifying whether he will meet Zelensky in person.
However, with less than a day left until the scheduled date for the meeting, Putin has yet to confirm his participation, while Zelensky has said he will meet only with the Russian leader, not with a delegation of officials from Moscow.
Russian media have reported that the delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"I don't know if he [Putin] would be there if I wasn't," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, flying from Saudi Arabia to Qatar on May 14.
"I know he would want me to be there, and it's possible. If we can stop the war, I would take that seriously," he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 14 that the offer for talks remains in place, but that the composition of the Russian delegation will be announced only after Putin "gives the order."
"The Russian delegation will receive the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul," Peskov said.
Zelensky is scheduled to meet in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but has said that if Putin decides to come to Istanbul, they could meet there.
Independent Russian political scientist Natalia Shavshukova told Current Time television that Putin's real motivation is to meet Trump directly, which makes his trip to Turkey possible.
"Putin's only interest is a direct meeting with Trump... Ukraine has become an excuse for this meeting between the two leaders," Shavshukova said, adding that Putin currently does not seem interested in a peace agreement with Ukraine.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, stated that if Putin does not appear in Turkey on May 15, this will be a sign that "Moscow does not want peace and is not ready for serious negotiations."
"We don't trust Russia... But we want to end this conflict and we are ready to accept any format of negotiations," Yermak said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has already arrived in Antalya, Turkey, where NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will chair an informal meeting of the military alliance's foreign ministers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also be in Turkey for the meeting, along with senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, who are expected to join the peace talks in Istanbul.
Earlier, on May 15, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Sybiha had asked his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he is willing to reach a peace agreement.
"I will try to talk to Putin," Lula said at a news conference during his visit to China, adding that he could stop in Moscow if necessary.
"It doesn't cost me anything to say: 'Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate,'" he said.
Last week, Trump demanded that Ukraine "immediately" begin direct talks with Russia to end the war, bypassing Kiev's demand for a ceasefire as a precondition for negotiations.
Trump had promised to end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House. But that goal has remained elusive since taking office on January 20.
Meanwhile, Russia has launched numerous drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, as pressure for a ceasefire continues./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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