Trump ‘Open’ To Meeting Putin, Zelenskyy In Turkey For Peace Talks: White House

US President Donald Trump is open to an invitation from his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to hold peace talks in Istanbul with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the White House on Monday.

“The president has said he’s open to it if it comes to that, but he wants both of these leaders and both sides to come to the table together,” US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing.

Earlier in the day, Erdogan had mentioned his willingness to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the war in Ukraine after several rounds of talks failed to yield a breakthrough.

“My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring Mr Trump to their side, if they accept,” he said, adding that Turkey would take steps to facilitate such a meeting.

His remarks came as Ukrainian and Russian delegations converged for a second round of talks in Istanbul on Monday, where they agreed on another large-scale prisoner exchange but failed to reach an agreement on an immediate ceasefire.

Trump has recently expressed frustration with the slow pace of ceasefire negotiations, accompanied by Russia’s refusal for an unconditional truce and punishing bombing campaigns by both sides. The US president has even threatened to walk out of ceasefire talks if a deal is not reached.

Urged on by Trump, Moscow and Kyiv have opened direct negotiations for the first time since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion, but have yet to make progress beyond prisoner exchanges and the agreement to swap their demands for a longer-term settlement.

Moscow has made sweeping demands such as calling for Ukraine to cede territory it still controls, a ban on Kyiv joining NATO, limiting Ukraine’s military and ending Western military support. Zelenskyy rejected those demands, with Kyiv and the West casting Russia’s assault as nothing but an imperialist land grab.

Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded, with swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed and millions forced to flee their homes in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.