Putin Wants Me There—Otherwise He’s Not Coming [WATCH]

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that meaningful progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will not occur unless he meets personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the Russian leader’s decision not to attend scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Trump responded to questions about the planned Istanbul meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay?” Trump said.

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“And obviously, he wasn’t going to go. He was going to go — but he thought I was going to go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there.”

Trump reiterated that the conflict, now approaching its third year, won’t be resolved through lower-level diplomatic channels.

“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together. But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying,” he said.

Putin’s absence from the talks, which would have marked the first in-person negotiations since the early stages of the war, cast uncertainty over the meeting’s purpose and potential outcome.

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The Kremlin instead sent a delegation of aides, prompting questions about Russia’s commitment to the discussions.

When asked if he was disappointed that Putin did not attend in person, Trump replied, “I’m not disappointed in anything. Why would I be disappointed? We just took in $4 trillion and he says ‘are you disappointed about a delegation?’”

Trump was referring to a series of economic and trade deals signed during his ongoing trip through the Middle East.

President Trump had previously suggested he would consider traveling to Istanbul himself if substantial progress was made between the Russian and Ukrainian teams.

“If something happened I would go on Friday if it was appropriate,” he said while speaking with reporters in Qatar during a business roundtable.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently in Istanbul to represent the United States at the talks.

However, the absence of Putin and uncertainty surrounding the scope of the Russian delegation’s authority have cast doubt on the prospects for meaningful dialogue.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed questions about Putin’s potential future involvement, stating that it was too early to determine what level of participation might be necessary.

“It is premature to say what kind of participation will be required and at what level because we do not know if the Ukrainian negotiators will show up or not and how the negotiations will go,” Peskov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Ankara ahead of the scheduled talks, questioned the seriousness of the Russian delegation.

“We need to understand what kind of level the Russian delegation is, and what mandate they have and whether they can make any decisions,” Zelensky told reporters.

The negotiations come amid renewed international efforts to secure a cease-fire and bring the conflict to a close.

Despite diplomatic momentum, the absence of high-level Russian participation and Trump’s assertion that a resolution hinges on his own direct involvement with Putin continue to overshadow the talks.

The situation remains fluid, with all parties awaiting potential developments from Istanbul as deliberations proceed.

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